THE  EXPOSITOR’S  BIBLE 


EDITED  BY  THE  REV. 

W.  ROBERTSON  NICOLL,  M.A.,  LL.D. 

Editor  of  “  The  Expositor etc. 


THE  PSALMS 

BY 

A.  MACLAREN,  D.D. 


VOLUME  I. 
PSALMS  I.— XXXVIII. 


NEW  YORK 

A.  C.  ARMSTRONG  AND  SON 

51  EAST  TENTH  STREET 

1899 


1 


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THE  PSALMS 


BY 

A.  MACLAREN,  D.D . 


VOLUME  1 . 
PSALMS  I.— XXXVIII. 


NEW  YORK 

A.  C.  ARMSTRONG  AND  SON 

51  EAST  TENTH  STREET 
1899 


Printed  by  Ha  melt,  Watson,  <S*  Viney,  Ld.,  London  and  Aylesbury ,  England. 


1J5  08 


PREFACE. 


VOLUME  which  appears  in  “The  Expositor’s 


^  ^  Bible  ”  should  obviously,  first  of  all,  be  expository. 
I  have  tried  to  conform  to  that  requirement,  and  have 
therefore  found  it  necessary  to  leave  questions  of  date 
and  authorship  all  but  untouched.  They  could  not  be 
adequately  discussed  in  conjunction  with  Exposition. 
I  venture  to  think  that  the  deepest  and  most  precious 
elements  in  the  Psalms  are  very  slightly  affected  by  the 
answers  to  these  questions,  and  that  expository  treat¬ 
ment  of  the  bulk  of  the  Psalter  may  be  separated  from 
critical,  without  condemning  the  former  to  incomplete¬ 
ness.  If  I  have  erred  in  thus  restricting  the  scope  ot 
this  volume,  I  have  done  so  after  due  consideration ; 
and  am  not  without  hope  that  the  restriction  may  com¬ 
mend  itself  to  some  readers. 


A.  Mcl 


Manchester,  Dec.  1892. 


-  - - 


CONTENTS. 


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l^h 


PSALM  I. 


1  Happy  the  man  who  has  not  walked  in  the  counsel  of  the  wicked, 
And  has  not  stood  in  the  way  of  sinners, 

And  in  the  session  of  scorners  has  not  sat. 

2  But  in  the  law  of  Jehovah  [is]  his  delight, 

And  in  His  law  he  meditates  day  and  night. 

3  And  he  is  like  a  tree  planted  by  the  runnels  of  water, 

Which  yields  its  fruit  in  its  season, 

And  whose  leafage  does  not  fade, 

And  all  which  he  does  he  prosperously  accomplishes. 

4  Not  so  are  the  wicked, 

But  like  chaff  which  the  wind  drives  away. 

5  Therefore  the  wicked  shall  not  stand  in  the  judgment, 

Nor  sinners  in  the  congregation  of  the  righteous. 

6  For  Jehovah  knows  the  righteous, 

And  the  way  of  the  wicked  shall  perish. 


HE  Psalter  may  be  regarded  as  the  heart’s  echo 


X  to  the  speech  of  God,  the  manifold  music  of  its 
wind-swept  strings  as  God’s  breath  sweeps  across 
them.  Law  and  Prophecy  are  the  two  main  elements 
of  that  speech,  and  the  first  two  psalms,  as  a  double 
prelude  to  the  book,  answer  to  these,  the  former 
setting  forth  the  blessedness  of  loving  and  keeping  the 
law,  and  the  latter  celebrating  the  enthronement  of 
Messiah.  Jewish  tradition  says  that  they  were  origin¬ 
ally  one,  and  a  well-attested  reading  of  Acts  xiii.  33 
quotes  "  Thou  art  my  Son  ”  as  part  of  “  the  first  Psalm.” 
The  diversity  of  subject  makes  original  unity  improb¬ 
able,  but  possibly  our  present  first  Psalm  was  prefixed, 
unnumbered. 


i 


1 


2 


THE  PSALMS. 


Its  theme,  the  blessedness  of  keeping  the  law,  is 
enforced  by  the  juxtaposition  of  two  sharply  contrasted 
pictures,  one  in  bright  light,  another  in  deep  shadow, 
and  each  heightening  the  other.  Ebal  and  Gerizim 
face  one  another. 

The  character  and  fate  of  the  lover  of  the  law  are 
sketched  in  vv.  1-3,  and  that  of  the  “wicked”  in 
vv.  4-6. 

“  How  abundantly  is  that  word  Blessed  multiplied 
in  the  Book  of  Psalms !  The  book  seems  to  be  made 
out  of  that  word,  and  the  foundation  raised  upon  that 
word,  for  it  is  the  first  word  of  the  book.  But  in  all 
the  book  there  is  not  one  Woe”  (Donne). 

It  is  usually  taken  as  an  exclamation,  but  may  equally 
well  be  a  simple  affirmation,  and  declares  a  universal 
truth  even  more  strongly,  if  so  regarded.  The  cha¬ 
racteristics  which  thus  bring  blessedness  are  first 
described  negatively,  and  that  order  is  significant.  As 
long  as  there  is  so  much  evil  in  the  world,  and  society 
is  what  it  is,  godliness  must  be  largely  negative,  and 
its  possessors  “  a  people  whose  laws  are  different  from 
all  people  that  be  on  earth.”  Live  fish  swim  against 
the  stream ;  dead  ones  go  with  it. 

The  tender  graces  of  the  devout  soul  will  not  flourish 
unless  there  be  a  wall  of  close-knit  and  unparticipating 
opposition  round  them,  to  keep  off  nipping  blasts.  The 
negative  clauses  present  a  climax,  notwithstanding  the 
unquestionable  correctness  of  one  of  the  grounds  on 
which  that  has  been  denied — namely,  the  practical 
equivalence  of  “  wicked  ”  and  “  sinner.” 

Increasing  closeness  and  permanence  of  association 
are  obvious  in  the  progress  from  walking  to  standing 
and  from  standing  to  sitting.  Increasing  boldness  in 
evil  is  marked  by  the  progress  from  counsel  to  way ,  or 


THE  PSALMS. 


3 


*•] 

course  of  life,  and  thence  to  scoffing.  Evil  purposes 
come  out  in  deeds,  and  deeds  are  formularised  at  last 
in  bitter  speech.  Some  men  scoff  because  they  have 
already  sinned.  The  tongue  is  blackened  and  made 
sore  by  poison  in  the  system.  Therefore  goodness 
will  avoid  the  smallest  conformity  with  evil,  as  knowing 
that  if  the  hem  of  the  dress  or  the  tips  of  the  hair 
be  caught  Tn  the  cruel  wheels,  the  whole  body  will 
be  drawn  in.  But  these  negative  characteristics  are 
valuable  mainly  for  their  efficacy  in  contributing  to  the 
positive,  as  the  wall  round  a  young  plantation  is  there 
for  the  sake  of  what  grows  behind  it.  On  the  other 
hand,  these  positive  characteristics,  and  eminently  that 
chief  one  of  a  higher  love,  are  the  only  basis  for  useful 
abstinence.  Mere  conventional,  negative  virtue  is  of 
little  power  or  worth  unless  it  flow  from  a  strong  set 
of  the  soul  in  another  direction. 

“  So  did  not  I  ”  is  good  and  noble  when  we  can  go 
on  to  say,  as  Nehemiah  did,  “because  of  the  fear  of 
God.”  The  true  way  of  floating  rubbish  out  is  to  pour 
water  in.  Delight  in  the  law  will  deliver  from  delight 
in  the  counsel  of  the  wicked.  As  the  negative,  so  the 
positive  begins  with  the  inward  man.  The  main  thing 
about  all  men  is  the  direction  of  their  “delight.” 
Where  do  tastes  run  ?  what  pleases  them  most  ?  and 
where  are  they  most  at  ease  ?  Deeds  will  follow  the 
current  of  desires,  and  be  right  if  the  hidden  man  of 
the  heart  be  right.  To  the  psalmist,  that  law  was 
revealed  by  Pentateuch  and  prophets ;  but  the  delight 
in  it,  in  which  he  recognises  the  germ  of  godliness,  is 
the  coincidence  of  will  and  inclination  with  the  declared 
will  of  God,  however  declared.  In  effect,  he  reduces 
perfection  to  the  same  elements  as  the  other  psalmist 
who  sang,  “  I  delight  to  do  Thy  will,  yea,  Thy  law  is 


4 


THE  PSALMS. 


within  my  heart.”  The  secret  of  blessedness  is  self- 
renunciation, — 

“A  love  to  lose  my  will  in  His, 

And  by  that  loss  be  free.” 

Thoughts  which  are  sweet  will  be  familiar. 

The  command  to  Joshua  is  the  instinct  of  the  devout 
man.  In  the  distractions  and  activities  of  the  busy  day 
the  law  beloved  will  be  with  him,  illuminating  his  path 
and  shaping  his  acts.  In  hours  of  rest  it  will  solace 
weariness  and  renew  strength.  That  habit  of  patient, 
protracted  brooding  on  the  revelation  of  God’s  will 
needs  to  be  cultivated.  Men  live  meanly  because  they 
live  so  fast.  Religion  lacks  depth  and  volume  because 
it  is  not  fed  by  hidden  springs. 

The  good  man’s  character  being  thus  all  condensed 
into  one  trait,  the  psalm  next  gathers  his  blessedness 
up  in  one  image.  The  tree  is  an  eloquent  figure  to 
Orientals,  who  knew  water  as  the  one  requisite  to  turn 
desert  into  garden.  Such  a  life  as  has  been  sketched 
will  be  rooted  and  steadfast.  “  Planted  ”  is  expressed 
by  a  word  which  suggests  fixity.  The  good  man’s  life 
is  deeply  anchored,  and  so  rides  out  storms.  It  goes 
down  through  superficial  fleeting  things  to  that  Eternal 
Will,  and  so  stands  unmoved  and  upright  when  winds 
howl.  Scotch  firs  lift  massive,  corrugated  boles,  and 
thrust  out  wide,  gnarled  branches  clothed  in  steadfast 
green,  and  look  as  if  they  could  face  any  tempest,  but 
their  roots  run  laterally  among  the  surface  gravel,  and 
therefore  they  go  down  before  blasts  which  feeble 
saplings,  that  strike  theirs  vertically,  meet  unharmed. 

Such  a  life  is  fed  and  refreshed.  The  law  of  the 
Lord  is  at  once  soil  and  stream.  In  the  one  aspect 
fastening  a  life  to  it  gives  stability ;  in  the  other, 


s 


ij  THE  PSALMS. 

freshening  and  means  of  growth.  Truly  loved,  that  Will 
becomes,  in  its  manifold  expressions,  as  the  divided 
irrigation  channels  through  which  a  great  river  is 
brought  to  the  roots  of  each  plant.  If  men  do  not 
find  it  life-giving  as  rivers  of  water  in  a  dry  place,  it 
is  because  they  do  not  delight  in  it.  Opposed,  it  is 
burdensome  and  harsh ;  accepted,  this  sweet  image 
tells  what  it  becomes — the  true  good,  the  only  thing 
that  really  nourishes  and  reinvigorates.  The  disciples 
came  back  to  Jesus,  whom  they  had  left  too  wearied 
and  faint  to  go  with  them  to  the  city,  and  found  Him 
fresh  and  strong.  Their  wonder  was  answered  by, 
“My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me.” 

Such  a  life  is  vigorous  and  productive.  It  would 
be  artificial  straining  to  assign  definite  meanings  to 
“  fruit  ”  and  “  leaf.”  All  that  belongs  to  vigorous 
vitality  and  beauty  is  included.  These  come  naturally 
when  the  preceding  condition  is  fulfilled.  This  stage 
of  the  psalm  is  the  appropriate  place  for  deeds  to  come 
into  view.  By  loving  fellowship  with  God  and  delight 
in  His  law  the  man  is  made  capable  of  good.  His 
virtues  are  growths,  the  outcome  of  life.  The  psalm 
anticipates  Christ’s  teaching  of  the  good  tree  bringing 
forth  good  fruit,  and  also  tells  how  His  precept  of 
making  the  tree  good  is  to  be  obeyed — namely,  by 
transplanting  it  from  the  soil  of  self-will  to  that  of 
delight  in  the.  law.  How  that  transplanting  is  to  be 
effected  it  does  not  tell.  “  But  now  being  made  free 
from  sin,  and  become  servants  of  God,  ye  have  your  fruit 
unto  holiness,”  and  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  in  “  whatso¬ 
ever  things  are  lovely  and  of  good  report”  hangs  in 
clusters  on  the  life  that  has  been  shifted  from  the  realm 
of  darkness  and  rooted  in  Christ.  The  relation  is  more 
intimate  still.  u  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches. 


6 


THE  PSALMS. 


He  that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  beareth 
much  fruit.” 

Such  a  life  will  be  prosperous.  The  figure  is 
abandoned  here.  The  meaning  is  not  affected  whether 
we  translate  “  whatsoever  he  doeth  shall  prosper,” 
or  “  whatsoever  ...  he  shall  cause  to  succeed.”  That 
is  not  unconditionally  true  now,  nor  was  it  then,  if 
referred  to  what  the  world  calls  prospering,  as  many 
a  sad  and  questioning  strain  in  the  Psalter  proves. 
He  whose  life  is  rooted  in  God  will  have  his  full  share 
of  foiled  plans  and  abortive  hopes,  and  will  often  see 
the  fruit  nipped  by  frost  or  blown  green  from  the 
boughs,  but  still  the  promise  is  true  in  its  inmost 
meaning.  For  what  is  prosperity  ?  Does  the  psalmist 
merely  mean  to  preach  the  more  vulgar  form  of  the 
doctrine  that  religion  makes  the  best  of  both  worlds  ? 
or  are  his  hopes  to  be  harmonised  with  experience,  by 
giving  a  deeper  meaning  to  “  prosperity  ”  ?  They  to 
whom  the  will  of  God  is  delight  can  never  be  hurt 
by  evil,  for  all  that  meets  them  expresses  and  serves 
that  will,  and  the  fellow-servants  of  the  King  do  not 
wound  one  another.  If  a  life  be  rooted  in  God  and  a 
heart  delight  in  His  law,  that  life  will  be  prosperous 
and  that  heart  will  be  at  rest. 

The  second  half  of  the  psalm  gives  the  dark  contrast 
of  the  fruitless,  rootless  life  (vv.  4-6).  The  Hebrew 
flashes  the  whole  dread  antithesis  on  the  view  at  once 
by  its  first  word,  “  Not  so,”  a  universal  negative,  which 
reverses  every  part  of  the  preceding  picture.  “  Wicked  ” 
is  preferable  to  “  ungodly,”  as  the  designation  of  the 
subjects.  Whether  we  take  the  root  idea  of  the  word 
to  be  “restless,”  as  most  of  the  older  and  many  modern 
commentators  do,  or  “  crooked  ”  (Hupfeld),  or  “  loose, 
flaccid  ”  (Delitzsch),  it  is  the  opposite  of  “  righteous,”  and 


THE  PSALMS. 


7 


i-] 

therefore  means  one  who  lives  not  by  the  law  of  God,  but 
by  his  own  will.  The  psalmist  has  no  need  to  describe 
him  further  nor  to  enumerate  his  deeds.  The  funda¬ 
mental  trait  of  his  character  is  enough.  Two  classes 
only,  then,  are  recognised  here.  If  a  man  has  not 
God’s  uttered  will  for  his  governor,  he  goes  into  the 
category  of  “  wicked.”  That  sounds  harsh  doctrine, 
and  not  corresponding  to  the  innumerable  gradations 
of  character  actually  seen.  But  it  does  correspond  to 
facts,  if  they  are  grasped  in  their  roots  of  motive  and 
principle.  If  God  be  not  the  supreme  delight,  and  His 
law  sovereign,  some  other  object  is  men’s  delight  and 
aim,  and  that  departure  from  God  taints  a  life,  how¬ 
ever  fair  it  may  be.  It  is  a  plain  deduction  from 
our  relations  to  God  that  lives  lived  irrespective  of 
Him  are  sinful,  whatever  be  their  complexion  other¬ 
wise. 

The  remainder  of  the  psalm  has  three  thoughts — the 
real  nullity  of  such  lives,  their  consequent  disappear¬ 
ance  in  “  the  judgment,”  and  the  ground  of  both  the 
blessedness  of  the  one  type  of  character  and  the 
vanishing  of  the  other  in  the  diverse  attitude  of  God 
to  each.  Nothing  could  more  vividly  suggest  the 
essential  nothingness  of  the  “  wicked  ”  than  the  con¬ 
trast  of  the  leafy  beauty  of  the  fruit-laden  tree  and  the 
chaff,  rootless,  fruitless,  lifeless,  light,  and  therefore 
the  sport  of  every  puff  of  wind  that  blows  across  the 
elevated  and  open  threshing  floor. 

Such  is  indeed  a  true  picture  of  every  life  not  rooted 
in  God  and  drawing  fertility  from  Him.  It  is  rootless  ; 
for  what  hold-fast  is  there  but  in  Him  ?  or  where  shall 
the  heart  twine  its  tendrils  if  not  round  God’s  stable 
throne  ?  or  what  basis  do  fleeting  objects  supply  for 
him  who  builds  elsewhere  than  on  the  enduring  Rock  ? 


THE  PSALMS. 


8 


It  is  fruitless  ;  for  what  is  fruit  ?  There  may  be  much 
activity  and  many  results  satisfying  to  part  of  man's 
nature  and  admired  by  others.  One  fruit  there  will 
be,  in  character  elaborated.  But  if  we  ask  what 
ought  to  be  the  products  of  a  life,  man  and  God  being 
what  they  are  in  themselves  and  to  each  other,  we 
shall  not  wonder  if  every  result  of  godless  energy  is 
regarded  by  “those  clear  eyes  and  perfect  judgment” 
of  heaven  as  barrenness.  In  the  light  of  these  higher 
demands,  achievements  hymned  by  the  world’s  accla¬ 
mations  seem  infinitely  small,  and  many  a  man,  rich  in 
the  apparent  results  of  a  busy  and  prosperous  life,  will 
find  to  his  dismayed  astonishment  that  he  has  nothing 
to  show  but  unfruitful  works  of  darkness.  Chaff  is 
fruitless  because  lifeless. 

Its  disappearance  in  the  winnowing  wind  is  the 
consequence  and  manifestation  of  its  essential  nullity. 
“Therefore”  draws  the  conclusion  of  necessary  tran¬ 
siency.  Just  as  the  winnower  throws  up  his  shovel 
full  into  the  breeze,  and  the  chaff  goes  fluttering  out  of 
the  floor  because  it  is  light,  while  the  wheat  falls  on 
the  heap  because  it  is  solid,  so  the  wind  of  judgment 
will  one  day  blow  and  deal  with  each  man  according 
to  his  nature.  It  will  separate  them,  whirling  away 
the  one,  and  not  the  other.  “  One  shall  be  taken  and 
the  other  left.”  When  does  this  sifting  take  effect  ? 
The  psalmist  does  not  date  it.  There  is  a  continually 
operative  law  of  retribution,  and  there  are  crises  of 
individual  or  national  life,  when  the  accumulated  con¬ 
sequences  of  evil  deeds  fall  on  the  doers.  But  the 
definite  article  prefixed  to  “judgment”  seems  to  suggest 
some  special  “day”  of  separation.  It  is  noteworthy 
and  perhaps  illuminative  that  John  the  Baptist  uses  the 
same  figures  of  the  tree  and  the  chaff  in  his  picture  of 


THE  PSALMS. 


9 


»•] 

the  Messianic  judgments,  and  that  epoch  may  have 
been  in  the  psalmist’s  mind.  Whatever  the  date,  this 
he  is  sure  of — that  the  wind  will  rise  some  time,  and  that, 
when  it  does,  the  wicked  will  be  blown  out  of  sight. 
When  the  judgment  comes,  the  “  congregation  of  the 
righteous  ” — that  is,  the  true  Israel  within  Israel,  or,  to 
speak  in.  Christian  language,  the  true  invisible  Church 
— will  be  freed  from  admixture  of  outward  adherents, 
whose  lives  give  the  lie  to  their  profession.  Men  shall 
be  associated  according  to  spiritual  affinity,  and  “  being 
let  go,”  will  “  go  to  their  own  company  ”  and  “  place,” 
wherever  that  may  be. 

The  ground  of  these  diverse  fates  is  the  different 
attitude  of  God  to  each  life.  Each  clause  of  the  last 
verse  really  involves  two  ideas,  but  the  pregnant  brevity 
of  style  states  only  half  of  the  antithesis  in  each,  sup¬ 
pressing  the  second  member  in  the  first  clause  and  the 
first  member  in  the  second  clause,  and  so  making  the 
contrast  the  more  striking  by  emphasising  the  cause 
of  an  unspoken  consequence  in  the  former,  and  the 
opposite  consequence  of  an  unspoken  cause  in  the 
latter.  “  The  Lord  knoweth  the  way  of  the  righteous 
[therefore  it  shall  last].  The  Lord  knoweth  not  the 
way  of  the  wicked  [therefore  it  shall  perish].”  The  way 
which  the  Lord  knows  abides.  “Know”  is,  of  course, 
here  used  in  its  full  sense  of  loving  knowledge,  care, 
and  approval,  as  in  “  He  knoweth  my  path  ”  and  the 
like  sayings.  The  direction  of  the  good  man’s  life  is 
watched,  guarded,  approved,  and  blessed  by  God. 
Therefore  it  will  not  fail  to  reach  its  goal.  They  who 
walk  patiently  in  the  paths  which  He  has  prepared  will 
find  them  paths  of  peace,  and  will  not  tread  them 
unaccompanied,  nor  ever  see  them  diverging  from  the 
straight  road  to  home  and  rest.  “Commit  thy  way 


IO 


THE  PSALMS. 


unto  the  Lord,”  and  let  His  way  be  thine,  and  He  shall 
make  thy  way  prosperous. 

The  way  or  course  of  life  which  God  does  not  know 
perishes.  A  path  perishes  when,  like  some  dim  forest 
track,  it  dies  out,  leaving  the  traveller  bewildered  amid 
impenetrable  forests,  or  when,  like  some  treacherous 
Alpine  track  among  rotten  rocks,  it  crumbles  beneath 
the  tread.  Every  course  of  life  but  that  of  the  man 
who  delights  in  and  keeps  the  law  of  the  Lord  comes 
to  a  fatal  end,  and  leads  to  the  brink  of  a  precipice, 
over  which  the  impetus  of  descent  carries  the  reluctant 
foot.  “The  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light, 
which  shineth  more  and  more  till  the  noontide  of  the 
day.  The  way  of  the  wicked  is  as  darkness  ;  they 
know  not  at  what  they  stumble.” 


PSALM  II. 


1  "Why  do  the  nations  muster  with  tumult, 

And  the  peoples  meditate  vanity? 

2  The  kings  of  the  earth  take  up  their  posts, 

And  the  chieftains  sit  in  counsel  together 
Against  Jehovah  and  against  His  Anointed. 

3  “  Let  us  wrench  off  their  bands, 

And  let  us  fling  off  from  us  their  cords.” 

4  He  who  sits  in  the  heavens  laughs; 

The  Lord  mocks  at  them. 

5  Then  He  speaks  to  them  in  His  anger-wrath, 

And  in  His  wrath-heat  puts  them  in  panic. 

6  .  .  .  “And  yet  I,  I  have  set  my  King 
Upon  Zion,  my  holy  mountain.” 

7  I  will  tell  of  a  decree  : 

Jehovah  said  unto  me,  My  son  art  thou; 

I  have  begotten  thee  this  day. 

8  Ask  from  me  and  I  will  give  thee  the  nations  as  thine  inheritance, 
And  as  thy  possession  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

9  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron, 

Like  a  potter’s  vessel  shalt  thou  shatter  them. 

10  And  now,  O  kings,  be  wise ; 

Let  yourselves  be  warned,  O  judges  of  the  earth. 

1 1  Serve  Jehovah  in  fear, 

And  rejoice  in  trembling. 

12  Kiss  the  Son  (?),  lest  He  be  angry,  and  ye  perish  in  [your]  way; 
For  easily  may  His  wrath  kindle. 

Blessed  are  all  who  take  refuge  in  Him  ! 

VARIOUS  unsatisfactory  conjectures  as  to  a 
historical  basis  for  this  magnificent  lyric  have 
been  made,  but  none  succeeds  in  specifying  events 
which  fit  with  the  situation  painted  in  it.  The  banded 


12 


THE  PSALMS. 


enemies  are  rebels,  and  the  revolt  is  widespread  ;  for 
the  “kings  of  the  earth”  is  a  very  comprehensive,  if 
we  may  not  even  say  a  universal,  expression.  If  taken 
in  connection  with  “  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  ” 
(ver.  8),  which  are  the  King’s  rightful  dominion,  it  implies 
a  sweep  of  authority  and  a  breadth  of  opposition  quite 
beyond  any  recorded  facts.  Authorship  and  date  must 
be  left  undetermined.  The  psalm  is  anonymous,  like 
Psalm  i.,  and  is  thereby  marked  off  from  the  psalms 
which  follow  in  Book  I.,  and  with  one  exception  are 
ascribed  to  David.  Whether  these  two  preludes  to  the 
Psalter  were  set  in  their  present  place  on  the  completion 
of  the  whole  book,  or  were  prefixed  to  the  smaller 
“Davidic”  collection,  cannot  be  settled.  The  date  of 
composition  may  have  been  much  earlier  than  that 
of  either  the  smaller  or  the  larger  collection. 

The  true  basis  of  the  psalm  is  not  some  petty  revolt 
of  subject  tribes,  even  if  such  could  be  adduced,  but 
Nathan’s  prophecy  in  2  Sam.  vii.,  which  sets  forth  the 
dignity  and  dominion  of  the  King  of  Israel  as  God’s 
son  and  representative.  The  poet-prophet  of  our 
psalm  may  have  lived  after  many  monarchs  had  borne 
the  title,  but  failed  to  realise  the  ideal  there  outlined, 
and  the  imperfect  shadows  may  have  helped  to  lift  his 
thoughts  to  the  reality.  His  grand  poem  may  be 
called  an  idealising  of  the  monarch  of  Israel,  but  it  is 
an  idealising  which  expected  realisation.  The  psalm 
is  prophecy  as  well  as  poetry ;  and  whether  it  had 
contemporaneous  persons  and  events  as  a  starting- 
point  or  not,  its  theme  is  a  real  person,  fully  possessing 
the  prerogatives  and  wielding  the  dominion  which 
Nathan  had  declared  to  be  God’s  gift  to  the  King  of 
Israel. 

The  psalm  falls  into  four  strophes  of  three  verses 


ii] 


THE  PSALMS. 


13 


each,  in  the  first  three  of  which  the  reader  is  made 
spectator  and  auditor  of  vividly  painted  scenes,  while 
in  the  last  the  psalmist  exhorts  the  rebels  to  return  to 
allegiance. 

In  the  first  strophe  (vv.  1-3)  the  conspiracy  of 
banded  rebels  is  set  before  us  with  extraordinary 
force.  The  singer  does  not  delay  to  tell  what  he 
sees,  but  breaks  into  a  question  of  astonished  indig¬ 
nation  as  to  what  can  be  the  cause  of  it  all.  Then, 
in  a  series  of  swift  clauses,  of  which  the  vivid  move¬ 
ment  cannot  be  preserved  in  a  translation,  he  lets 
us  see  what  had  so  moved  him.  The  masses  of 
the  “  nations  ”  are  hurrying  tumultuously  to  the 
mustering-place  ;  the  “  peoples  ”  are  meditating  revolt, 
which  is  smitingly  stigmatised  in  anticipation  as 
“  vanity.”  But  it  is  no  mere  uprising  of  the  common 
herd  ;  “  the  kings  of  the  earth  ”  take  their  stand  as  in 
battle-array,  and  the  men  of  mark  and  influence  lay 
their  heads  together,  pressing  close  to  one  another 
on  the  divan  as  they  plot.  All  classes  and  orders 
are  united  in  revolt,  and  hurry  and  eagerness  mark 
their  action  and  throb  in  the  words.  The  rule  against 
which  the  revolt  is  directed  is  that  of  “  Jehovah  and 
His  Anointed.”  That  is  one  rule,  not  two, — the 
dominion  of  Jehovah  exercised  through  the  Messiah 
The  psalmist  had  grasped  firmly  the  conception  that 
God’s  visible  rule  is  wielded  by  Messiah,  so  that  re¬ 
bellion  against  one  is  rebellion  against  both.  Their 
“  bands  ”  are  the  same.  Pure  monotheist  as  the 
psalmist  was,  he  had  the  thought  of  a  king  so  closely 
associated  with  Jehovah,  that  he  could  name  them  in 
one  breath  as,  in  some  sense,  sharers  of  the  same 
throne  and  struck  at  by  the  same  revolt.  The  founda¬ 
tion  of  such  a  conception  was  given  in  the  designation 


14 


THE  PSALMS. 


of  the  Davidic  monarch  as  God's  vicegerent  and  repre¬ 
sentative,  but  its  full  justification  is  the  relation  of  the 
historic  Christ  to  the  Father  whose  throne  He  shares 
in  glory. 

That  eloquent  “  why  ”  may  include  both  the  ideas  of 
“  for  what  reason  ?  ”  and  "  to  what  purpose  ?  ”  Opposi¬ 
tion  to  that  King,  whether  by  communities  or  indi¬ 
viduals,  is  unreasonable.  Every  rising  of  a  human 
will  against  the  rule  which  it  is  blessedness  to  accept 
is  absurd,  and  hopelessly  incapable  of  justification. 
The  question,  so  understood,  is  unanswerable  by  the 
rebels  or  by  any  one  else.  The  one  mystery  of  mys¬ 
teries  is  that  a  finite  will  should  be  able  to  lift  itself 
against  the  Infinite  Will,  and  be  willing  to  use  its 
power.  In  the  other  aspect,  the  question,  like  that 
pregnant  “  vanity,”  implies  the  failure  of  all  rebellion. 
Plot  and  strive,  conspire  and  muster,  as  men  may,  all 
is  vanity  and  striving  of  wind.  It  is  destined  to  break 
down  from  the  beginning.  It  is  as  hopeless  as  if  the 
stars  were  to  combine  to  abolish  gravitation.  That 
dominion  does  not  depend  on  man’s  acceptance  of  it, 
and  he  can  no  more  throw  it  off  by  opposition  than  he 
can  fling  a  somersault  into  space  and  so  get  away  from 
earth.  When  we  can  vote  ourselves  out  of  submission 
to  physical  law,  we  may  plot  or  fight  ourselves  out  of 
subjection  to  the  reign  of  Jehovah  and  of  His  Anointed. 

All  the  self-will  in  the  world  does  not  alter  the  fact 
that  the  authority  of  Christ  is  sovereign  over  human 
wills.  We  cannot  get  away  from  it ;  but  we  can  either 
lovingly  embrace  it,  and  then  it  is  our  life,  or  we  can 
set  ourselves  against  it,  like  an  obstinate  ox  planting 
its  feet  and  standing  stock-still,  and  then  the  goad  is 
driven  deep  and  draws  blood. 

The  metaphor  of  bands  and  cords  is  taken  from  the 


THE  PSALMS. 


15 


ii.] 


fastenings  of  the  yoke  on  a  draught  bullock.  One 
can  scarcely  miss  the  lovely  contrast  of  this  truculent 
exhortation  to  rebellion  with  the  gracious  summons 
“Take  my  yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  me.”  The 
“  bands  ”  are  already  on  our  necks  in  a  very  real 
sense,  for  we  are  all  under  Christ’s  authority,  and 
opposition  is  rebellion,  not  the  effort  to  prevent  a  yoke 
being  imposed,  but  to  shake  off  one  already  laid  on. 
But  yet  the  consent  of  our  own  wills  is  called  for,  and 
thereby  we  take  the  yoke,  which  is  a  stay  rather  than 
a  fetter,  and  bear  the  burden  which  bears  up  those  who 
bear  it. 

Psalm  i.  set  side  by  side  in  sharp  contrast  the  godly 
and  the  godless.  Here  a  still  more  striking  transition  is 
made  in  the  second  strophe  (vv.  4-6),  which  changes 
the  scene  to  heaven.  The  lower  half  of  the  picture 
is  all  eager  motion  and  strained  effort ;  the  upper  is  full 
of  Divine  calm.  Hot  with  hatred,  flushed  with  defiant 
self-confidence  and  busy  with  plots,  the  rebels  hurry 
together  like  swarming  ants  on  their  hillock.  “  He 
that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh.”  That  repre¬ 
sentation  of  the  seated  God  contrasts  grandly  with  the 
stir  on  earth.  He  needs  not  to  rise  from  His  throned 
tranquillity,  but  regards  undisturbed  the  disturbances 
of  earth.  The  thought  embodied  is  like  that  expressed 
in  the  Egyptian  statues  of  gods  carved  out  of  the  side 
of  a  mountain,  “  moulded  in  colossal  calm,”  with  their 
mighty  hands  laid  in  their  laps  and  their  wide-opened 
eyes  gazing  down  on  the  little  ways  of  the  men  creep¬ 
ing  about  their  feet. 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  that  daring  and  awful 
image  of  the  laughter  of  God  ?  The  attribution  of  such 
action  to  Him  is  so  bold  that  no  danger  of  misunder¬ 
standing  it  is  possible.  It  sends  us  at  once  to  look  for 


1 6 


THE  PSALMS. 


its  translation,  which  probably  lies  in  the  thought  of  the 
essential  ludicrousness  of  opposition,  which  is  discerned 
in  heaven  to  be  so  utterly  groundless  and  hopeless  as 
to  be  absurd.  “  When  He  came  nigh  and  beheld  the 
city,  He  wept  over  it.”  The  two  pictures  are  not 
incapable  of  being  reconciled.  The  Christ  who  wept 
over  sinners  is  the  fullest  revelation  of  the  heart  of 
God,  and  the  laughter  of  the  psalm  is  consistent  with 
the  tears  of  Jesus  as  He  stood  on  Olivet,  and  looked 
across  the  glen  to  the  Temple  glittering  in  the  morning 
sun. 

God’s  laughter  passes  into  the  utterance  of  His 
wrath  at  the  time  determined  by  Him.  The  silence 
is  broken  by  His  voice,  and  the  motionless  form  flashes 
into  action.  One  movement  is  enough  to  “vex”  the 
enemies  and  fling  them  into  panic,  as  a  flock  of  birds 
put  to  flight  by  the  lifting  of  an  arm.  There  is  a 
point,  known  to  God  alone,  when  He  perceives  that  the 
fulness  of  time  has  come,  and  the  opposition  must  be 
ended.  By  long-drawn-out,  gentle  patience  He  has 
sought  to  win  to  obedience  (though  that  side  of  His 
dealings  is  not  presented  in  this  psalm),  but  the  moment 
arrives  when  in  world-wide  catastrophes  or  crushing 
blows  on  individuals  sleeping  retribution  wakes  at 
the  right  moment,  determined  by  considerations  in¬ 
appreciable  by  us  :  “Then  does  He  speak  in  His  wrath.” 

The  last  verse  of  this  strophe  is  parallel  with  the 
last  of  the  preceding,  being,  like  it,  the  dramatically 
introduced  speech  of  the  actor  in  the  previous  verses. 
The  revolters’  mutual  encouragement  is  directly  an¬ 
swered  by  the  sovereign  word  of  God,  which  discloses 
the  reason  for  the  futility  of  their  attempts.  The  “  I  ” 
of  ver.  6  is  emphatic.  On  one  side  is  that  majestic  “  I 
have  set  my  King”;  on  the  other  a  world  of  rebels. 


THE  PSALMS. 


*7 


ii.] 

They  may  put  their  shoulders  to  the  throne  of  the 
Anointed  to  overthrow  it ;  but  what  of  that  ?  God’s 
hand  holds  it  firm,  whatever  forces  press  on  it.  All 
enmity  of  banded  or  of  single  wills  breaks  against  and 
is  dashed  by  it  into  ineffectual  spray.. 

Another  speaker  is  next  heard,  the  Anointed  King, 
who,  in  the  third  strophe  (vv.  7-9),  bears  witness  to 
Himself  and  claims  universal  dominion  as  His  by  a 
Divine  decree.  “  Thou  art  my  son ;  to-day  have  I 
begotten  thee.”  So  runs  the  first  part  of  the  decree. 
The  allusion  to  Nathan’s  words  to  David  is  clear.  In 
them  the  prophet  spoke  of  the  succession  of  David’s 
descendants,  the  king  as  a  collective  person,  so  to 
speak.  The  psalmist,  knowing  how  incompletely  any 
or  all  of  these  had  fulfilled  the  words  which  were  the 
patent  of  their  kingship,  repeats  them  in  confident 
faith  as  certain  to  be  accomplished  in  the  Messiah- 
king,  who  fills  the  future  for  him  with  a  great  light  of 
hope.  He  knew  not  the  historic  person  in  whom  the 
word  has  to  be  fulfilled,  but  it  is  difficult  to  resist  the 
conclusion  that  he  had  before  him  the  prospect  of  a 
king  living  as  a  man,  the  heir  of  the  promises.  Now, 
this  idea  of  sonship,  as  belonging  to  the  monarch,  is 
much  better  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  Israel,  the 
nation,  was  so  named,  than  by  the  boasts  of  Gentile 
dynasties  to  be  sons  of  Zeus  or  Ra.  The  relationship  is 
moral  and  spiritual,  involving  Divine  care  and  love  and 
appointment  to  office,  and  demanding  human  obedience 
and  use  of  dignity  for  God.  It  is  to  be  observed  that 
in  our  psalm  the  day  of  the  King’s  self-attestation  is 
the  day  of  His  being  “  begotten.”  The  point  of  time 
referred  to  is  not  the  beginning  of  personal  existence, 
but  of  investiture  with  royalty.  With  accurate  insight, 
then,  into  the  meaning  of  the  words,  the  New  Testa- 

3 


i8 


THE  PSALMS. 


ment  takes  them  as  fulfilled  in  the  Resurrection  (Acts 
xiii.  33 ;  Rom.  i.  4).  In  it,  as  the  first  step  in  the 
process  which  was  completed  in  the  Ascension,  the 
manhood  of  Jesus  was  lifted  above  the  limitations  and 
weaknesses  of  earth,  and  began  to  rise  to  the  throne. 
The  day  of  His  resurrection  was,  as  it  were,  the  day 
of  the  birth  of  His  humanity  into  royal  glory. 

Built  upon  this  exaltation  to  royalty  and  sonship 
follows  the  promise  of  universal  dominion.  Surely 
the  expectation  of  “  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  a  possession  ”  bursts  the  bonds  of  the  tiny  Jewish 
kingdom !  The  wildest  national  pride  could  scarcely 
have  dreamed  that  the  narrow  strip  of  seaboard,  whose 
inhabitants  never  entered  on  any  wide  schemes  of 
conquest,  should  expand  into  a  universal  monarchy, 
stretching  even  farther  than  the  giant  empires  on 
either  side.  If  such  were  the  psalmist’s  expectations, 
they  were  never  even  approximately  fulfilled ;  but  the 
reference  of  the  glowing  words  to  Messiah’s  kingdom 
is  in  accordance  with  the  current  of  prophetic  hopes, 
and  need  cause  no  hesitation  to  those  who  believe  in 
prophecy  at  all. 

Universal  dominion  is  God’s  gift  to  Messiah.  Even 
while  putting  His  foot  on  the  step  of  the  throne,  Jesus 
said,  “All  power  is  given  unto  me.”  This  dominion 
is  founded  not  on  His  essential  divinity,  but  on  His 
suffering  and  sacrifice.  His  rule  is  the  rule  of  God 
in  Him,  for  He  is  the  highest  form  of  the  Divine  self¬ 
revelation,  and  whoso  trusts,  loves,  and  obeys  Christ, 
trusts,  loves,  and  obeys  God  in  Him.  The  psalmist  did 
not  know  in  how  much  more  profound  a  sense  than  he 
attached  to  his  words  they  were  true.  They  had  an 
intelligible,  great,  and  true  meaning  for  him.  They 
have  a  greater  for  us. 


ii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


iQ 


The  Divine  voice  foretells  victory  over  opposition 
and  destruction  to  opposers.  The  sceptre  is  of  iron, 
though  the  hand  that  holds  it  once  grasped  the  reed. 
The  word  rendered  “  break  ”  may  also  be  translated, 
with  a  different  set  of  vowels,  “  shepherd, ”  and  is  so 
rendered  by  the  LXX.  (which  Rev.  ii.  27,  etc.,  follows) 
and  by  some  other  versions.  But,  in  view  of  the 
parallelism  of  the  next  clause,  “  break  ”  is  to  be  pre¬ 
ferred.  The  truth  of  Christ’s  destructive  energy  is  too 
often  forgotten,  and,  when  remembered,  is  too  often 
thrown  forward  into  another  world.  The  history  of 
this  world  ever  since  the  Resurrection  has  been  but  a 
record  of  conquered  antagonism  to  Him.  The  stone 
cut  out  without  hands  has  dashed  against  the  images 
of  clay  and  silver  and  gold  and  broken  them  all.  The 
Gospel  of  Christ  is  the  great  solvent  of  institutions 
not  based  upon  itself.  Its  work  is 

u  To  cast  the  kingdoms  old 
Into  another  mould.” 

Destructive  work  has  still  to  be  done,  and  its  most 
terrible  energy  is  to  be  displayed  in  the  future,  when 
all  opposition  shall  be  withered  into  nothingness  by 
the  brightness  of  His  presence.  There  are  two  kinds  of 
breaking  :  a  merciful  one,  when  His  love  shatters  our 
pride  and  breaks  into  penitence  the  earthen  vessels  of 
our  hearts ;  and  a  terrible  one,  when  the  weight  of  His 
sceptre  crushes,  and  His  hand  casts  down  in  shivers 
“vessels  of  wrath,  fitted  to  destruction.” 

We  have  listened  to  three  voices,  and  now,  in 
vv.  10-12,  the  poet  speaks  in  solemn  exhortation  :  “Be 
wise  now,  ye  kings.”  The  “now”  is  argumentative, 
not  temporal.  It  means  “  since  things  are  so.”  The 
kings  addressed  are  the  rebel  m  on  arch  s  whose  power 


20 


THE  PSALMS. 


seems  so  puny  measured  against  that  of  "  my  King.” 
But  not  only  these  are  addressed,  but  all  possessors 
of  power  and  influence.  Open-eyed  consideration  of 
the  facts  is  true  wisdom.  The  maddest  thing  a  man 
can  do  is  to  shut  his  eyes  to  them  and  steel  his  heart 
against  their  instruction.  This  pleading  invitation  to 
calm  reflection  is  the  purpose  of  all  the  preceding.  To 
draw  rebels  to  loyalty,  which  is  life,  is  the  meaning 
of  all  appeals  to  terror.  God  and  His  prophet  desire 
that  the  conviction  of  the  futility  of  rebellion  with  a 
poor  “  ten  thousand  ”  against  “  the  king  of  twenty 
thousands”  should  lead  to  “sending  an  embassage” 
to  sue  for  peace.  The  facts  are  before  men,  that  they 
may  be  warned  and  wise. 

The  exhortation  which  follows  in  vv.  n,  12  points 
to  the  conduct  which  will  be  dictated  by  wise  reception 
of  instruction.  So  far  as  regards  ver.  1 1  there  is  little 
difficulty.  The  exhortation  to  “  serve  Jehovah  with  fear 
and  rejoice  with  trembling  ”  points  to  obedience  founded 
on  awe  of  God’s  majesty, — the  fear  which  love  does 
not  cast  out,  but  perfect ;  and  to  the  gladness  which 
blends  with  reverence,  but  is  not  darkened  by  it.  To 
love  and  cleave  to  God,  to  feel  the  silent  awe  of  His 
greatness  and  holiness  giving  dignity  and  solemnity  to 
our  gladness,  and  from  this  inmost  heaven  of  con¬ 
templation  to  come  down  to  a  life  of  practical  obedience 
— this  is  God’s  command  and  man’s  blessedness. 

The  close  connection  between  Jehovah  and  Messiah  in 
the  preceding  sections,  in  each  of  which  the  dominion  of 
the  latter  is  treated  as  that  of  the  former  and  rebellion 
as  against  both  at  once,  renders  it  extremely  improbable 
that  there  should  be  no  reference  to  the  King  in  this 
closing  hortatory  strophe.  The  view-point  of  the 
psalm,  if  consistently  retained  throughout,  requires 


»•] 


THE  PSALMS. 


21 


something  equivalent  to  the  exhortation  to  “  kiss  the 
Son  ”  in  token  of  fealty,  to  follow,  “  serve  Jehovah.” 
But  the  rendering  “  Son  ”  is  impossible.  The  word  so 
translated  is  Bar ,  which  is  the  Aramaic  for  son ,  but  is 
not  found  in  that  sense  in  the  Old  Testament  except  in 
the  Aramaic  of  Ezra  and  Daniel  and  in  Prov.  xxxi.  2,  a 
chapter  which  has  in  other  respects  a  distinct  Aramaic 
tinge.  No  good  reason  appears  for  the  supposition  that 
the  singer  here  went  out  of  his  way  to  employ  a  foreign 
word  instead  of  the  usual  Ben.  But  it  is  probably 
impossible  to  make  any  good  and  certain  rendering  of 
the  existing  text.  The  LXX.  and  Targum  agree  in 
rendering,  “  Take  hold  of  instruction,”  which  probably 
implies  another  reading  of  Hebrew  text.  None  of  the 
various  proposed  translations — e.g .,  Worship  purely , 
Worship  the  chosen  One — are  without  objection  ;  and,  on 
the  whole,  the  supposition  of  textual  corruption  seems 
best.  The  conjectural  emendations  of  Gratz,  Hold  fast 
by  warning ,  or  reproof ;  Cheyne’s  alternative  ones,  Seek 
ye  His  face  (“  Book  of  Psalms,”  adopted  from  Briill)  or 
Put  on  [ again ]  His  bonds  (“  Orig.  of  Psalt.,”  p.  351, 
adopted  from  Lagarde),  and  Hupfeld’s  (in  his  transla¬ 
tion)  Cleave  to  Him ,  obliterate  the  reference  to  the  King, 
which  seems  needful  in  this  section,  as  has  been  pointed 
out,  and  depart  from  the  well-established  meaning  of 
the  verb — namely,  “kiss.”  These  two  considerations 
seem  to  require  that  a  noun  referring  to  Messiah,  and 
grammatically  object  of  the  verb,  should  stand  in  the 
place  occupied  by  Son.  The  Messianic  reference  of 
the  psalm  remains  undimmed  by  the  uncertainty  of 
the  meaning  of  this  clause. 

The  transition  from  the  representative  of  Jehovah  to 
Jehovah  Himself,  which  takes  place  in  the  next  clause, 
is  in  accordance  with  the  close  union  between  them 


22 


THE  PSALMS. 


which  has  marked  the  whole  psalm.  It  is  henceforth 
Jehovah  only  who  appears  till  the  close.  But  the 
anger  which  is  destructive,  and  which  may  easily  flash 
out  like  flames  from  a  furnace  mouth,  is  excited  by 
opposition  to  Messiah’s  kingdom,  and  the  exclusive 
mention  of  Jehovah  in  these  closing  clauses  makes  the 
picture  of  the  anger  the  more  terrible. 

But  since  the  disclosure  of  the  danger  of  perishing 
“  in  [or  as  to]  the  way  ”  or  course  of  rebellious  conduct 
is  part  of  an  exhortation,  the  purpose  of  which  is  that 
the  threatened  flash  of  wrath  may  never  need  to  shoot 
forth,  the  psalmist  will  not  close  without  setting  forth 
the  blessed  alternative.  The  sweet  benediction  of  the 
close  bends  round  to  the  opening  words  of  the  com¬ 
panion  psalm  of  prelude,  and  thus  identifies  the  man 
who  delights  in  the  law  of  Jehovah  with  him  who  sub¬ 
mits  to  the  kingdom  of  God’s  Anointed.  The  expression 
“put  their  trust”  literally  means  to  take  refuge  in. 
The  act  of  trust  cannot  be  more  beautifully  or  forcibly 
described  than  as  the  flight  of  the  soul  to  God.  They 
who  take  shelter  in  God  need  fear  no  kindling  anger 
They  who  yield  to  the  King  are  they  who  take  refuge 
in  Jehovah  ;  and  such  never  know  aught  of  His  kingdom 
but  its  blessings,  nor  experience  any  flame  of  His  wrath, 
but  only  the  happy  glow  of  His  love. 


PSALM  III. 


1  Jehovah,  how  many  are  my  oppressors  ! 

Many  are  rising  against  me. 

2  Many  are  saying  to  my  soul, 

There  is  no  salvation  for  him  in  God.  Selah. 

3  And  yet  Thou,  Jehovah,  art  a  shield  round  me; 

My  glory,  and  the  lifter  up  of  my  head. 

4  With  my  voice  to  Jehovah  I  cry  aloud, 

And  He  answers  me  from  His  holy  mountain.  Selah 

5  I  laid  myself  down  and  slept ; 

I  awaked  ;  for  Jehovah  upholds  me. 

6  I  am  not  afraid  of  ten  thousands  of  people, 

Who  round  about  have  set  themselves  against  me. 

7  Arise,  Jehovah  ;  save  me,  my  God  : 

For  Thou  hast  smitten  all  my  enemies  [on]  the  cheek-bone ; 
The  teeth  of  the  wicked  Thou  hast  broken. 

8  To  Jehovah  belongs  salvation  : 

Upon  Thy  people  be  Thy  blessing.  Selah. 


N OTHER  pair  of  psalms  follows  the  two  of  the 


l  \  Introduction.  They  are  closely  connected  linguis¬ 
tically,  structurally,  and  in  subject.  The  one  is  a 
morning,  the  other  an  evening  hymn,  and  possibly 
they  are  placed  at  the  beginning  of  the  earliest  psalter 
for  that  reason.  Ewald  and  Hitzig  accept  the  Davidic 
authorship,  though  the  latter  shifts  the  period  in  David’s 
life  at  which  they  were  composed  to  the  mutiny  of  his 
men  atZiklag(i  Sam.  xxx.).  Cheyne  thinks  that  “you 
will  find  no  situation  which  corresponds  to  these 
psalms,”  though  you  “search  the  story  of  David’s  life 


24 


THE  PSALMS. 


from  end  to  end.”  He  takes  the  whole  of  the  Psalms 
from  iii.  to  xvii.,  excepting  viii.,  xv.,  xvi.,  as  a  group, 
“the  heart  utterances  of  the  Church  amidst  some  bitter 
persecution  ”  —  namely,  “  the  period  when  faithful 
Israelites  were  so  sorely  oppressed  both  by  traitors  in 
their  midst  and  by  Persian  tyrants  ”  (“  Orig.  of  Psalt.,” 
pp.  226,  227).  But  correspondences  of  the  two  psalms 
with  David’s  situation  will  strike  many  readers  as  being 
at  least  as  close  as  that  which  is  sought  to  be  established 
with  the  “spiritual  kernel  of  the  nation  during  the 
Persian  domination,”  and  the  absence  of  more  specific 
reference  is  surely  not  unnatural  in  devout  song,  how¬ 
ever  strange  it  would  be  in  prosaic  narrative.  We  do 
not  look  for  mention  of  the  actual  facts  which  wring  the 
poet’s  soul  and  were  peculiar  to  him,  but  are  content 
with  his  expression  of  his  religious  emotions,  which  are 
common  to  all  devout  souls.  Who  expects  Cowper  to 
describe  his  aberrations  of  intellect  in  the  “Olney 
Hymns”?  But  who  cannot  trace  the  connection  of  his 
pathetic  strains  with  his  sad  lot  ?  If  ever  a  seeming 
reference  to  facts  is  pointed  out  in  a  so-called  Davidic 
psalm,  it  is  brushed  aside  as  “  prosaic,”  but  the  absence 
of  such  is,  notwithstanding,  urged  as  an  argument 
against  the  authorship.  Surely  that  is  inconsistent. 

This  psalm  falls  into  four  strophes,  three  of  which 
are  marked  by  Selah.  In  the  first  (vv.  1,  2)  the 
psalmist  recounts  his  enemies.  If  we  regard  this  as  a 
morning  psalm,  it  is  touchingly  true  to  experience  that 
the  first  waking  thought  should  be  the  renewed  inrush 
of  the  trouble  which  sleep  had  for  a  time  dammed  back. 
His  enemies  are  many,  and  they  taunt  him  as  forsaken 
of  God.  Surely  it  is  a  strong  thing  to  say  that  there 
is  no  correspondence  here  with  David’s  situation  during 
Absalom’s  revolt.  It  was  no  partial  conspiracy,  but 


THE  PSALMS. 


25 


IH.] 


practically  the  nation  had  risen  against  him,  “lit  totidem 
fere  haberet  hostes  quot  subditos  ”  (Calvin). 

Shimei’s  foul  tongue  spoke  the  general  mind  :  “  The 
Lord  hath  delivered  the  kingdom  into  the  hand  ot 
Absalom  ”  (2  Sam.  xvi.  8).  There  had  been  sin  enough 
in  the  king’s  recent  past  to  give  colour  to  the  interpre¬ 
tation  of  his  present  calamity  as  the  sign  of  his  being 
forsaken  of  God.  The  conviction  that  such  was  the 
fact  would  swell  the  rebel  ranks.  The  multitude  has 
delight  in  helping  to  drown  a  sinking  man  who  has 
been  prosperous.  The  taunt  went  deep,  for  the  Hebrew 
has  “  to  my  soul,”  as  if  the  cruel  scoff  cut  like  a  knife 
to  the  very  centre  of  his  personality,  and  wounded  all 
the  more  because  it  gave  utterance  to  his  own  fears. 
“  The  Lord  hath  bidden  him,”  said  David  about  Shimei’s 
curses.  But  the  psalmist  is  finding  refuge  from  fears 
and  foes  even  in  telling  how  many  there  are,  since  he 
begins  his  complaint  with  “Jehovah.”  Without  that 
word  the  exclamations  of  this  first  strophe  are  the 
voice  of  cowardice  or  despair.  With  it  they  are 
calmed  into  the  appeal  of  trust. 

The  Selah  which  parts  the  first  from  the  second 
strophe  is  probably  a  direction  for  an  instrumental 
interlude  while  the  singer  pauses. 

The  second  strophe  (vv.  3,  4)  is  the  utterance  of 
faith,  based  on  experience,  laying  hold  of  Jehovah  as 
defence.  By  an  effort  of  will  the  psalmist  rises  from 
the  contemplation  of  surrounding  enemies  to  that  of 
the  encircling  Jehovah.  In  the  thickest  of  danger  and 
dread  there  is  a  power  of  choice  left  a  man  as  to  what 
shall  be  the  object  of  thought,  whether  the  stormy  sea 
or  the  outstretched  hand  of  the  Christ.  This  harassed 
man  flings  himself  out  of  the  coil  of  troubles  round 
about  him  and  looks  up  to  God,  He  sees  in  Him  pre- 


26 


THE  PSALMS. 


cisely  what  he  needs  most  at  the  moment,  for  in  that 
infinite  nature  is  fulness  corresponding  to  all  emptiness 
of  ours.  “A  shield  around  me,”  as  He  had  promised 
to  be  to  Abraham  in  his  peril ;  “  my  glory,”  at  a  time 
when  calumny  and  shame  were  wrapping  him  about 
and  his  kingdom  seemed  gone ;  “  the  lifter  up  of  my 
head,”  sunk  as  it  is  both  in  sadness  and  calamity,  since 
Jehovah  can  both  cheer  his  spirit  and  restore  his 
dignity.  And  how  comes  this  sudden  burst  of  confi¬ 
dence  to  lighten  the  complaining  soul  ?  Ver.  4  tells. 
Experience  has  taught  him  that  as  often  as  he  cries  to 
Jehovah  he  is  heard.  The  tenses  in  ver.  4  express  a 
habitual  act  and  a  constant  result.  Not  once  or  twice, 
but  as  his  wont,  he  prays,  and  Jehovah  answers.  The 
normal  relation  between  him  and  Jehovah  is  that  of 
frank  communion ;  and  since  it  has  long  been  so  and  is 
so  now,  even  the  pressure  of  present  disaster  does  not 
make  faith  falter.  It  is  hard  to  begin  to  trust  when  in 
the  grip  of  calamity,  but  feet  accustomed  to  the  road  to 
God  can  find  it  in  the  dark.  There  may  be  an  allusion 
to  David’s  absence  from  sanctuary  and  ark  in  ver.  4. 
The  expectation  of  being  answered  “  from  His  holy 
hill  ”  gains  in  pathetic  force  when  the  lovely  scene  of 
submissive  sacrifice  in  which  he  sent  back  the  Ark  is 
recalled  (2  Sam.  xv.  25).  Though  he  be  far  from  the 
place  of  prayer,  and  feeling  the  pain  of  absence,  the 
singer’s  faith  is  not  so  tied  to  form  as  to  falter  in  the 
assurance  that  his  prayer  is  heard.  Jehovah  is  shield, 
glory,  and  strengthener  to  the  man  who  cries  to  Him, 
and  it  is  by  means  of  such  crying  that  the  heart  wins 
the  certitude  that  He  is  all  these.  Again  the  instru¬ 
ments  sound  and  the  singer  pauses. 

The  third  strophe  (vv.  5,  6)  beautifully  expresses 
the  tranquil  courage  which  comes  from  trust.  “  Since 


iii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


27 


sleeping  and  safe  waking  again  in  ordinary  circumstances 
is  no  such  striking  proof  of  Divine  help  that  one  in  the 
psalmist’s  situation  would  be  induced  to  think  especially 
of  it  and  to  found  his  confidence  on  it,  the  view  is  to 
be  taken  that  the  psalmist  in  ver.  5  is  contemplating 
the  experience  which  he  has  just  made  in  his  present 
situation.  “  Surrounded  by  enemies,  he  was  quite  safe 
under  God’s  protection  and  exposed  to  no  peril  even  in 
the  night  ”  (Riehm,  in  Hupfeld  in  loci).  Surely  cor¬ 
respondence  with  David’s  circumstances  may  be  traced 
here.  His  little  band  had  no  fortress  in  Mahanaim, 
and  Ahithophel’s  counsel  to  attack  them  by  night  was  so 
natural  that  the  possibility  must  have  been  present  to  the 
king.  But  another  night  had  come  and  gone  in  safety, 
disturbed  by  no  shout  of  an  enemy.  The  nocturnal 
danger  had  passed,  and  day  was  again  brightening. 

They  were  safe  because  the  Keeper  of  Israel  had 
kept  them.  It  is  difficult  to  fit  this  verse  into  the  theory 
that  here  the  persecuted  Israelitish  Church  is  speak¬ 
ing,  but  it  suits  the  situation  pointed  to  in  the  super¬ 
scription.  To  lie  down  and  sleep  in  such  circumstances 
was  itself  an  act  of  faith,  and  a  sign  of  the  quiet  heart 
which  faith  gives.  Like  Christ  on  the  hard  wooden 
“ pillow”  during  the  storm,  or  like  Peter  sleeping  an 
infant’s  sleep  the  night  before  his  purposed  execution, 
this  man  can  shut  his  eyes  and  quiet  himself  to  slumber, 
though  “ten  thousands  have  set  themselves  against 
him.”  They  ring  him  round,  but  cannot  reach  him 
through  his  shield.  Ver.  6  rises  to  bold  defiance,  the 
result  of  the  experience  in  ver.  5.  How  different  the 
tone  of  reference  to  the  swarms  of  the  enemy  here  and 
in  ver.  1  !  There  the  psalmist  was  counting  them  and 
cowering  before  them ;  here  their  very  number  is  an 
element  in  his  triumphant  confidence.  Courage  comes 


28 


THE  PSALMS. 


from  thinking  of  the  one  Divine  Ally,  before  whom 
myriads  of  enemies  are  nothing.  One  man  with  God 
to  back  him  is  always  in  the  majority.  Such  courage, 
based  on  such  experience  and  faith,  is  most  modest 
and  reasonable,  but  it  is  not  won  without  an  effort  of 
will,  which  refuses  to  fear,  and  fixes  a  trustful  gaze  not 
on  peril,  but  on  the  protector.  “  I  will  not  be  afraid  ” 
speaks  of  resolve  and  of  temptations  to  fear,  which  it 
repels,  and  from  “the  nettle  danger  plucks  the  flower” 
trust  and  the  fruit  safety.  Selah  does  not  follow  here. 
The  tone  of  the  strophe  is  that  of  lowly  confidence, 
which  is  less  congruous  with  an  instrumental  interlude 
than  are  the  more  agitated  preceding  strophes.  The  last 
strophe,  too,  is  closely  connected  with  the  third,  since  faith 
bracing  itself  against  fear  glides  naturally  into  prayer. 

The  final  strophe  (vv.  7,  8)  gives  the  culmination  of 
faith  in  prayer.  “Arise,  Jehovah,”  is  quoted  from  the 
ancient  invocation  (Num.  x.  35),  and  expresses  in 
strongly  anthropomorphic  form  the  desire  for  some 
interposition  of  Divine  power.  Fearlessness  is  not  so 
complete  that  the  psalmist  is  beyond  the  need  of  pray¬ 
ing.  He  is  courageous  because  he  knows  that  God 
will  help,  but  he  knows,  too,  that  God’s  help  depends 
on  his  prayer.  The  courage  which  does  not  pray  is 
foolish,  and  will  break  down  into  panic ;  that  which 
fears  enough  to  cry  “Arise,  Jehovah,”  will  be  vindi¬ 
cated  by  victory.  This  prayer  is  built  on  experience, 
as  the  preceding  confidence  was.  The  enemies  are  now, 
according  to  a  very  frequent  figure  in  the  Psalter,  com¬ 
pared  to  wild  beasts.  Smiting  on  the  cheek  is  usually 
a  symbol  of  insult,  but  here  is  better  taken  in  close 
connection  with  the  following  “  breaking  the  teeth.” 
By  a  daring  image  Jehovah  is  represented  as  dealing 
the  beasts  of  prey,  who  prowl  round  the  psalmist  with 


iii-1 


THE  PSALMS. 


29 


open  mouth,  the  buffets  which  shatter  their  jaws  and 
dislodge  their  teeth,  thus  making  them  powerless  to 
harm  him.  So  it  has  been  in  the  past,  and  that  past 
is  a  plea  that  so  it  will  be  now.  God  will  be  but  doing 
as  He  has  done,  if  now  He  “  arise.”  If  He  is  to  be 
true  to  Himself,  and  not  to  stultify  His  past  deliverances, 
He  must  save  his  suppliant  now.  Such  is  the  logic  of 
faith,  which  is  only  valid  on  the  supposition  that  God’s 
resources  and  purpose  are  inexhaustible  and  unchange¬ 
able.  The  whole  ends  with  confident  anticipation  of 
an  answer.  “  Salvation  belongeth  unto  Jehovah.”  The 
full  spiritual  meaning  of  that  salvation  was  not  yet 
developed.  Literally,  the  word  means  “breadth,”  and 
so,  by  a  metaphor  common  to  many  languages,  deliver¬ 
ance  as  an  act,  and  well-being  or  prosperity  as  a  state. 
Deliverance  from  his  enemies  is  the  psalmist’s  main 
idea  in  the  word  here.  It  “belongs  to  Jehovah,”  since 
its  bestowal  is  His  act.  Thus  the  psalmist’s  last  utter¬ 
ance  of  trust  traverses  the  scoff  which  wounded  him 
so  much  (ver.  2),  but  in  a  form  which  beautifully 
combines  affiance  and  humility,  since  it  triumphantly 
asserts  that  salvation  is  in  God’s  power,  and  silently 
implies  that  what  is  thus  God’s  “  to  will  and  do  ”  shall 
certainly  be  His  suppliant’s  to  enjoy. 

Intensely  personal  as  the  psalm  is,  it  is  the  prayer 
of  a  king;  and  rebels  as  the  bulk  of  the  people  are 
(“  ten  thousands  of  the  people  ”),  they  are  still  God’s. 
Therefore  all  are  included  in  the  scope  of  his  pitying 
prayer.  In  other  psalms  evil  is  invoked  on  evil-doers, 
but  here  hate  is  met  by  love,  and  the  self-absorption 
of  sorrow  counteracted  by  wide  sympathy.  It  is  a 
lower  exemplification  of  the  same  spirit  which  breathed 
from  the  lips  of  the  greater  King  the  prayer,  “Father, 
forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do.” 


PSALM  IV. 


1  When  I  cry  answer  me,  O  God  of  my  righteousness ;  Thou  hast 

in  straits  made  space  for  me  : 

Be  gracious  to  me  and  hear  my  prayer. 

2  Sons  of  men  !  how  long  shall  my  glory  be  mocked,  [in  that]  ye  love 

vanity, 

[And]  seek  after  a  lie  ?  Selah. 

3  But  know  that  Jehovah  has  set  apart  as  His  own  him  whom  He 

favours  : 

Jehovah  hears  when  I  cry  to  Him. 

4  Stand  in  awe,  and  sin  not : 

Speak  in  your  hearts  on  your  beds,  and  be  silent.  Selah. 

5  Sacrifice  sacrifices  of  righteousness, 

And  trust  on  Jehovah. 

6  Many  are  saying,  Who  will  let  us  see  good  ? 

Lift  Thou  upon  us  the  light  of  Thy  face,  O  Jehovah. 

7  Thou  hast  given  gladness  in  my  heart, 

More  than  in  the  time  of  their  corn  and  their  wine  [when]  they 
abound. 

8  In  peace  will  I  lie  down  and  at  once  sleep  : 

For  Thou,  Jehovah,  in  [my]  loneliness,  makest  me  dwell  in  safety 

PSALMS  iii.  and  iv.  are  a  pair.  They  are  similar  in 
expression  (my  glory ,  there  be  many  which  say,  I 
laid  me  down  and  slept),  in  the  psalmist’s  situation,  and 
in  structure  (as  indicated  by  the  Selahs).  But  they 
need  not  be  cotemporaneous,  nor  need  the  superscrip¬ 
tion  of  Psalm  iii.  be  extended  to  Psalm  iv.  Their  tone 
is  different,  the  fourth  having  little  reference  to  the 
personal  danger  so  acutely  felt  in  Psalm  iii.,  and  being 
mainly  a  gentle,  earnest  remonstrance  with  antagonists, 
seeking  to  win  them  to  a  better  mind.  The  strophical 

jo 


IV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


3* 


division  into  four  parts  of  two  verses  each,  as  marked 
by  the  Selahs,  is  imperfectly  carried  out,  as  in  Psalm  iii., 
and  does  not  correspond  with  the  logical  division — a 
phenomenon  which  occurs  not  infrequently  in  the 
Psalter,  as  in  all  poetry,  where  the  surging  thought  or 
emotion  overleaps  its  bounds.  Dividing  according  to 
the  form,  we  have  four  strophes,  of  which  the  first  two 
are  marked  by  Selah ;  dividing  by  the  flow  of  thought, 
we  have  three  parts  of  unequal  length — prayer  (ver.  1), 
remonstrance  (vv.  2-5),  communion  and  prayer  (vv.  6-8). 

The  cry  for  an  answer  by  deed  is  based  on  the  name 
and  on  the  past  acts  of  God.  Grammatically,  it  would 
be  possible  and  regular  to  render  “my  God  of  righteous¬ 
ness, i.e.y  “  my  righteous  God  ”  ;  but  the  pronoun  is  best 
attached  to  “  righteousness  ”  only,  as  the  consideration 
that  God  is  righteous  is  less  relevant  than  that  He  is 
the  source  of  the  psalmist’s  righteousness.  Since  He 
is  so,  He  may  be  expected  to  vindicate  it  by  answering 
prayer  by  deliverance.  He  who  feels  that  all  good  in 
himself  comes  from  God  may  be  quite  sure  that,  sooner 
or  later,  and  by  some  means  or  other,  God  will  witness 
to  His  own  work.  To  the  psalmist  nothing  was  so 
incredible  as  that  God  should  not  take  care  of  what  He 
had  planted,  or  let  the  springing  crop  be  trodden  down 
or  rooted  up.  The  Old  Testament  takes  prosperity  as 
the  Divine  attestation  of  righteousness  ;  and  though  they 
who  worship  the  Man  of  Sorrows  have  new  light  thrown 
on  the  meaning  of  that  conception,  the  substance  of  it 
remains  true  for  ever.  The  compellation  “  God  of  my 
righteousness  ”  is  still  mighty  with  God.  The  second 
ground  of  the  prayer  is  laid  in  the  past  deeds  of  God. 
Whether  the  clause  “  Thou  hast  in  straits  made  space 
for  me  ”  be  taken  relatively  or  not,  it  appeals  to  former 
deliverances  as  reasons  for  man’s  prayer  and  for  God's 


32 


THE  PSALMS. 


act.  In  many  languages  trouble  and  deliverance  are 
symbolised  by  narrowness  and  breadth.  Compression 
is  oppression.  Closely  hemmed  in  by  crowds  or  by 
frowning  rocks,  freedom  of  movement  is  impossible  and 
breathing  is  difficult.  But  out  in  the  open,  one  expa¬ 
tiates,  and  a  clear  horizon  means  an  ample  sky. 

The  strophe  division  keeps  together  the  prayer  and 
the  beginning  of  the  remonstrance  to  opponents,  and 
does  so  in  order  to  emphasise  the  eloquent,  sharp  juxta¬ 
position  of  God  and  the  “  sons  of  men.”  The  phrase 
is  usually  employed  to  mean  persons  of  position,  but 
here  the  contrast  between  the  varying  height  of  men’s 
molehills  is  not  so  much  in  view  as  that  between  them 
all  and  the  loftiness  of  God.  The  lips  which  by  prayer 
have  been  purged  and  cured  of  quivering  can  speak 
to  foes  without  being  much  abashed  by  their  dignity 
or  their  hatred.  But  the  very  slight  reference  to  the 
psalmist’s  own  share  in  the  hostility  of  these  "  sons  of 
men  ”  is  noticeable.  It  is  their  false  relation  to  God 
which  is  prominent  throughout  the  remonstrance  ;  and 
that  being  so,  “my  glory,”  in  ver.  2,  is  probably  to 
be  taken,  as  in  iii.  3,  as  a  designation  of  God.  It  is 
usually  understood  to  mean  either  personal  or  official 
dignity,  but  the  suggested  interpretation  is  more  in 
keeping  with  the  tone  of  the  psalm.  The  enemies  were 
really  flouting  God  and  turning  that  great  name  in 
which  the  singer  gloried  into  a  jest.  They  were  not 
therefore  idolaters,  but  practical  heathen  in  Israel,  and 
their  “  vanity  ”  and  “  lies  ”  were  their  schemes  doomed 
to  fail  and  their  blasphemies.  These  two  verses  bring 
most  vividly  into  view  the  contrast  between  the  psalmist 
clinging  to  his  helping  God  and  the  knot  of  opponents 
hatching  their  plans  which  are  sure  to  fail. 

The  Selah  indicates  a  pause  in  the  song,  as  if  to 


THE  PSALMS. 


iv-1 


33 


underscore  the  question  “How  long?  ”  and  let  it  soak 
into  the  hearts  of  the  foes,  and  then,  in  vv.  3  and  4, 
the  remonstrating  voice  presses  on  them  the  great 
truth  which  has  sprung  anew  in  the  singer’s  soul  in 
answer  to  his  prayer,  and  beseeches  them  to  let  it 
stay  their  course  and  still  their  tumult.  By  “  the 
godly  ”  is  meant,  of  course  the  psalmist.  He  is'  sure 
that  he  belongs  to  God  and  is  set  apart,  so  that  no  real 
evil  can  touch  him  ;  but  does  he  build  this  confidence 
on  his  own  character  or  on  Jehovah's  grace  ?  The 
answer  depends  on  the  meaning  of  the  pregnant  word 
rendered  “godly,"  which  here  occurs  for  the  first  time 
in  the  Psalter.  So  far  as  its  form  is  concerned,  it  may 
be  either  active,  one  who  shows  chesed  (lovingkindness 
or  favour),  or  passive,  one  to  whom  it  is  shown.  But 
the  usage  in  the  Psalter  seems  to  decide  in  favour  of 
the  passive  meaning,  which  is  also  more  in  accordance 
with  the  general  biblical  view,  which  traces  all  man’s 
hopes  and  blessings,  not  to  his  attitude  to  God,  but 
to  God’s  to  him,  and  regards  man’s  love  to  God  as  a 
derivative,  “Amati  amamus,  amantes  amplius  meremur 
amari”  (Bern).  Out  of  His  own  deep  heart  of  love 
Jehovah  has  poured  His  lovingkindness  on  the  psalmist, 
as  he  thrillingly  feels,  and  He  will  take  care  that  His 
treasure  is  not  lost ;  therefore  this  conviction,  which 
has  flamed  up  anew  since  the  moment  before  when  he 
prayed,  brings  with  it  the  assurance  that  He  “hears 
when  I  cry,’’  as  he  had  just  asked  Him  to  do.  The 
slight  emendation,  adopted  by  Cheyne  from  Gratz  and 
others,  is  tempting,  but  unnecessary.  He  would  read, 
with  a  small  change  which  would  bring  this  verse  into 
parallelism  with  xxxi.  22,  “See  how  passing  great 
lovingkindness  Jehovah  hath  shown  me’’;  but  the  present 
text  is  preferable,  inasmuch  as  what  we  should  expect  to 

3 


34 


< 


THE  PSALMS. 


be  urged  upon  the  enemies  is  not  outward  farts,  but  some 
truth  of  faith  neglected  by  them.  On  such  a  truth  the 
singer  rests  his  own  confidence  j  such  a  truth  he  lays, 
like  a  cold  hand,  on  the  hot  brows  of  the  plotters,  and 
bids  them  pause  and  ponder.  Believed,  it  would  fill 
them  with  awe,  and  set  in  a  lurid  light  the  sinfulness 
of  their  assault  on  him.  Clearly  the  rendering  “  Be  ye 
angry  ”  instead  of  “  Stand  in  awe  ”  gives  a  less  worthy 
meaning,  and  mars  the  picture  of  the  progressive  con¬ 
version  of  the  enemy  into  a  devout  worshipper,  of  which 
the  first  stage  is  the  recognition  of  the  truth  in  ver.  3  ; 
the  second  is  the  awestruck  dropping  of  the  weapons, 
and  the  third  is  the  silent  reflection  in  the  calm  and 
solitude  of  night.  The  psalm  being  an  evening  song, 
the  reference  to  “  your  bed  ”  is  the  more  natural ;  but 
“  speak  in  your  hearts  ” — what  ?  The  new  fact  which 
you  have  learned  from  my  lips.  Say  it  quietly  to  your¬ 
selves  then,  when  forgotten  truths  blaze  on  the  waking- 
eye,  like  phosphorescent  writing  in  the  dark,  and  the 
nobler  self  makes  its  voice  heard.  “  Speak  .  .  .  and 
be  silent,”  says  the  psalmist,  for  such  meditation  will 
end  the  busy  plots  against  him,  and  in  a  wider  applica¬ 
tion  “that  dread  voice,”  heard  in  the  awed  spirit, 
“  shrinks  the  streams  ”  of  passion  and  earthly  desires, 
which  otherwise  brawl  and  roar  there.  Another  strain 
of  the  “  stringed  instruments  ”  makes  that  silence,  as  it 
were,  audible,  and  then  the  remonstrance  goes  on  once 
more. 

It  rises  higher  now,  exhorting  to  positive  godliness, 
and  that  in  the  two  forms  of  offering  “sacrifices  of 
righteousness,”  which  here  simply  means  those  which 
are  prescribed  or  which  are  offered  with  right  disposi¬ 
tions,  and  of  trusting  in  Jehovah — the  two  aspects  of 
true  religion,  which  outwardly  is  worship  and  inwardly 


iv.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


35 


is  trust.  The  poet  who  could  meet  hate  with  no 
W'eapon  but  these  earnest  pleadings  had  learned  a 
better  lesson  than  “  the  hate  of  hate,  the  scorn  of  scorn, 
the  love  of  love,”  and  anticipated  “  bless  them  which 
curse  you.”  The  teacher  who  thus  outlined  the  stages 
of  the  way  back  to  God  as  recognition  of  His  relation 
to  the  godly,  solitary  meditation  thereon,  forsaking  of 
sin  and  hushing  of  the  Spirit  thereby,  and  finally 
worship  and  trust,  knew  the  discipline  for  rebellious 
souls. 

Ver.  6  seems  at  first  sight  to  belong  more  closely  to 
what  follows  than  to  what  precedes,  and  is  taken  by 
those  who  hold  the  Davidic  authorship  as  addressed  to 
his  followers  beginning  to  despond.  But  it  may  be  the 
continuance  of  the  address  to  the  enemies,  carrying  on 
the  exhortation  to  trust.  The  sudden  appearance  of 
the  plural  u  us  ”  suggests  that  the  psalmist  associates 
himself  with  the  persons  whom  he  has  been  addressing, 
and,  while  he  glances  at  the  vain  cries  of  the  “  many,” 
would  make  himself  the  mouthpiece  of  the  nascent  faith 
which  he  hopes  may  follow  his  beseechings.  The  cry 
of  the  many  would,  in  that  case,  have  a  general  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  universal  desire  for  u  good,”  and  would 
pathetically  echo  the  hopelessness  which  must  needs 
mingle  with  it,  so  long  as  the  heart  does  not  know 
who  is  the  only  good.  The  passionate  weariness  of 
the  question,  holding  a  negation  in  itself,  is  wonder¬ 
fully  contrasted  with  the  calm  pi^er.  The  eyes  fail 
for  want  of  seeing  the  yearned-for  blessing ;  but  if 
Jehovah  lifts  the  light  of  His  face  upon  us,  as  He  will 
certainly  do  in  answer  to  prayer,  “  in  His  light  we  shall 
see  light.”  Every  good,  however  various,  is  sphered 
in  Him.  All  colours  are  smelted  into  the  perfect  white 
and  glory  of  His  face. 


36 


THE  PSALMS. 


There  is  no  Selah  after  ver.  6,  but,  as  in  iii.  6,  one 
is  due,  though  omitted. 

Vv.  7  and  8  are  separated  from  ver.  6  by  their 
purely  personal  reference.  The  psalmist  returns  to 
the  tone  of  his  prayer  in  ver.  I,  only  that  petition  has 
given  place,  as  it  should  do,  to  possession  and  con¬ 
fident  thankfulness.  The  many  ask,  Who  ?  ;  he  prays, 
“  Lord.”  They  have  vague  desires  after  God  ;  he  knows 
what  he  needs  and  wants.  Therefore  in  the  brightness 
of  that  Face  shining  on  him  his  heart  is  glad.  The 
mirth  of  harvest  and  vintage  is  exuberant,  but  it  is 
poor  beside  the  deep,  still  blessedness  which  trickles 
round  the  heart  that  craves  most  the  light  of  Jehovah’s 
countenance.  That  craving  is  joy  and  the  fruition  is 
bliss.  The  psalmist  here  touches  the  bottom,  the  foun¬ 
dation  fact  on  which  every  life  that  is  not  vanity  must 
be  based,  and  which  verifies  itself  in  every  life  that  is 
so  based.  Strange  and  tragic  that  men  should  forget 
it  and  love  vanity  which  mocks  them,  and,  though 
won,  still  leaves  them  looking  wearily  round  the  horizon 
for  any  glimmer  of  good !  The  glad  heart  possessing 
Jehovah  can,  on  the  other  hand,  lay  itself  down  in 
peace  and  sleep,  though  foes  stand  round.  The  last 
words  of  the  psalm  flow  restfully  like  a  lullaby.  The 
expression  of  confidence  gains  much  if  “alone”  be 
taken  as  referring  to  the  psalmist.  Solitary  as  he  is, 
ringed  round  by  hostility  as  he  may  be,  Jehovah’s 
presence  makes  him  safe,  and  being  thus  safe,  he  is 
secure  and  confident.  So  he  shuts  his  eyes  in  peace, 
though  he  may  be  lying  in  the  open,  beneath  the  stars, 
without  defences  or  sentries.  The  Face  brings  light 
in  darkness,  gladness  in  want,  enlargement  in  straits, 
safety  in  peril,  and  any  and  every  good  that  any  and 
every  man  needs. 


PSALM  V, 


! 


1  Give  ear  to  my  words,  Jehovah  ; 

Consider  my  meditation. 

2  Listen  to  the  voice  of  my  crying,  my  King  and  my  God, 

For  to  Thee  do  I  make  supplication. 

3  Jehovah,  in  the  morning  Thou  shalt  hear  my  voice ; 

In  the  morning  will  I  order  my  [prayer]  to  Thee  and  keep  watch. 

4  For  not  a  God  delighting  in  wickedness  art  Thou; 

Evil  cannot  sojourn  with  Thee. 

5  Fools  cannot  stand  before  Thine  eyes ; 

Thou'hatest  all  workers  of  iniquity. 

6  Thou  destroyest  the  speakers  of  falsehood  ; 

The  man  of  blood  and  deceit  Jehovah  loathes.  [Thy  house  ; 

7  But  I,  in  the  multitude  of  Thy  loving-kindness  I  dare  come  into 
I  dare  fall  prostrate  before  Thy  holy  temple  in  Thy  fear. 

8  Jehovah,  lead  me  in  Thy  righteousness,  because  of  them  that  are 

spies  on  me ; 

Make  Thy  way  level  before  me. 

9  For  in  his  mouth  is  nothing  trustworthy ; 

Their  inward  part  is  destruction  ; 

An  open  grave  is  their  throat ; 

Their  tongue  they  smooth. 

10  Hold  them  guilty,  Jehovah  :  let  them  fall  by  their  own  schemes; 
In  the  multitude  of  their  transgressions  strike  them  down,  for 

they  have  rebelled  against  Thee. 

1 1  Then  shall  all  those  who  take  refuge  in  Thee  be  glad  ; 

For  ever  shall  they  shout  for  joy,  since  Thou  dost  shelter  them  ; 
And  they  that  love  Thy  name  shall  exult  in  Thee. 

12  For  Thou  dost  bless  the  righteous;  [about. 

Jehovah,  as  with  a  shield,  with  favour  dost  Thou  compass  him 

THE  reference  to  the  temple  in  ver.  J  is  not  con- 
'elusive  against  the  Davidic  authorship  of  this 
psalm,  since  the  same  word  is  applied  in  I  Sam.  i. 

37 


38 


THE  PSALMS. 


9  and  iii.  3  to  the  house  of  God  in  Shiloh.  It  means 
a  palace,  and  may  well  be  used  for  an}'  structure,  even 
if  a  hair  tent,  in  which  God  dwelt.  No  doubt  it  is 
oftenest  used  for  the  Solomonic  temple,  but  it  does  not 
necessarily  refer  to  it.  Its  use  here,  then,  cannot  be 
urged  as  fatal  to  the  correctness  of  the  superscription. 
At  the  same  time,  it  does  create  a  certain  presumption 
against  it.  But  there  is  nothing  in  the  psalm  to 
determine  its  date,  and  its  worth  is  quite  independent 
of  its  authorship.  The  psalmist  is  surrounded  by  foes, 
and  seeks  access  to  God.  These  are  constant  features 
of  the  religious  life,  and  their  expression  here  fits  as 
closely  to  the  present  time  as  to  any  past. 

The  psalm  falls  into  two  main  parts  :  vv.  1-7  and 
8-12.  The  former  division  deals  with  the  inner  side 
of  the  devout  life,  its  access  to  God,  to  whom  sinful 
men  cannot  approach,  the  latter  with  the  outward  side, 
the  conduct,  “  the  way  ”  in  which  the  psalmist  seeks 
to  be  led,  and  in  which  sinful  men  come  to  ruin  because 
they  will  not  walk.  Naturally  the  inward  comes  first, 
for  communion  with  God  in  the  secret  place  of  the 
Most  High  must  precede  all  walking  in  His  way  and  all 
blessed  experience  of  His  protection,  with  the  joy  that 
springs  from  it.  These  two  halves  of  the  psalm  are 
arranged  in  inverted  parallelism,  the  first  verse  of  the 
second  part  (ver.  8)  corresponding  to  the  last  verse 
of  the  first  (ver.  7)  and  being,  like  it,  purely  personal ; 
vv.  9  and  10  corresponding  similarly  to  vv.  4-6  and, 
like  them,  painting  the  character  and  fate  of  evil-doers ; 
and,  finally,  vv.  n,  12,  answering  to  vv.  1-3  and 
representing  the  blessedness  of  the  devout  soul,  as  in 
the  one  case  led  and  protected  by  God  and  therefore 
glad,  and  in  the  other  abiding  in  His  presence.  The 
whole  is  a  prayerful  meditation  on  the  inexhaustible 


V.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


39 


theme  of  the  contrasted  blessedness  of  the  righteous 
and  misery  of  the  sinner  as  shown  in  the  two  great 
halves  of  life :  the  inward  of  communion  and  the 
outward  of  action. 

In  the  first  part  (vv.  1-7)  the  central  thought  is  that 
of  access  to  God’s  presence,  as  the  desire  and  purpose 
of  the  psalrpist  (1-3),  as  barred  to  evil-doers  (4-6),  and 
as  permitted  to,  and  embraced  as  his  chief  blessing  by, 
the  singer  (7).  The  petition  to  be  heard  in  vv.  1  and 
2  passes  into  confidence  that  he  is  heard  in  ver.  3. 
There  is  no  shade  of  sadness  nor  trace  of  struggle  with 
doubt  in  this  prayer,  which  is  all  sunny  and  fresh,  like 
the  morning  sky,  through  which  it  ascends  to  God. 
“  Consider  [or  Understand]  my  meditation  ” — the  brood¬ 
ing,  silent  thought  is  spread  before  God,  who  knows 
unspoken  desires,  and  “understands  thoughts  afar  off.” 
The  contrast  between  “  understanding  the  meditation  ” 
and  “  hearkening  to  the  voice  of  my  cry  ”  is  scarcely 
unintentional,  and  gives  vividness  to  the  picture  of  the 
musing  psalmist,  in  whom,  as  he  muses,  the  fire  burns, 
and  he  speaks  with  his  tongue,  in  a  “  cry  ”  as  loud  as 
the  silence  from  which  it  issued  had  been  deep. 
Meditations  that  do  not  pass  into  cries  and  cries  which 
are  not  preceded  by  meditations  are  alike  imperfect. 
The  invocation  “  my  King  ”  is  full  of  meaning  if  the 
singer  be  David,  who  thus  recognises  the  delegated 
character  of  his  own  lwalty ;  but  whoever  wrote  the 
psalm,  that  expression  equally  witnesses  to  his  firm 
grasp  of  the  true  theocratic  idea. 

Noteworthy  is  the  intensely  personal  tone  of  the 
invocation  in  both  its  clauses,  as  in  the  whole  of  these 
first  verses,  in  every  clause  of  which  “my”  or  “I” 
occurs.  The  poet  is  alone  with  God  and  seeking  to 
clasp  still  closer  the  guiding  hand,  to  draw  still  nearer 


40 


THE  PSALMS. 


to  the  sweet  and  awful  presence  where  is  rest.  The 
invocation  holds  a  plea  in  itself.  He  who  says,  ‘‘My 
King  and  my  God,”  urges  the  relation,  brought  about 
by  God’s  love  and  accepted  by  man’s  faith,  as  a  ground 
for  the  hearing  of  his  petition.  And  so  prayer  passes 
into  swift  assurance ;  and  with  a  new  turn  in  thought, 
marked  by  the  repetition  of  the  name  “Jehovah” 
(ver.  3),  he  speaks  his  confidence  and  his  resolve. 
“In  the  morning”  is  best  taken  literally,  whether  we 
suppose  the  psalm  to  have  been  composed  for  a  morning 
song  or  no.  Apparently  the  compilers  of  the  first 
Psalter  placed  it  next  to  Psalm  iv.,  which  they  regarded 
as  an  evening  hymn,  for  this  reason.  “  I  will  lay  me 
down  and  sleep  ”  is  beautifully  followed  by  “  In  the 
morning  shalt  Thou  hear  my  voice.”  The  order  of 
clauses  in  ver.  3  is  significant  in  its  apparent  breach 
of  strict  sequence,  by  which  God’s  hearing  is  made  to 
precede  the  psalmist’s  praying.  It  is  the  order  dictated 
by  confidence,  and  it  is  the  order  in  which  the  thoughts 
rise  in  the  trustful  heart.  He  who  is  sure  that  God 
will  hear  will  therefore  address  himself  to  speak. 
First  comes  the  confidence,  and  then  the  resolve. 
There  are  prayers  wrung  from  men  by  sore  need,  and 
in  which  doubt  causes  faltering,  but  the  happier,  serener 
experience  is  like  that  of  this  singer.  He  resolves  to 
“order”  his  prayer,  using  there  the  word  employed 
for  the  priest’s  work  in  preparing  the  materials  for  the 
morning  sacrifice.  Thus  he  compares  his  prayer  to  it, 
and  stands  at  the  same  level  as  the  writer  of  Psalm  iv., 
with  whose  command  to  “  offer  the  sacrifices  of  right¬ 
eousness  ”  this  thought  again  presents  a  parallel. 

A  psalmist  who  has  grasped  the  idea  that  the 
true  sacrifice  is  prayer  is  not  likely  to  have  missed 
the  cognate  thought  that  the  “  house  of  the  Lord,”  of 


V.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


4‘ 


which  he  will  presently  speak,  is  something  other  than 
any  material  shrine.  But  to  offer  the  sacrifice  is  not 
all  which  he  rejoices  to  resolve.  He  will  “  keep 
watch,”  as  Habakkuk  said  that  he  would  do,  on  his 
watch-tower ;  and  that  can  only  mean  that  he  will  be 
on  the  outlook  for  the  answer  to  his  prayer,  or,  if  we 
may  retain  the  allusion  to  sacrifice,  for  the  downward 
flash  of  the  Divine  fire,  which  tells  his  prayer’s 
acceptance.  Many  a  prayer  is  offered,  and  no  eyes 
afterwards  turned  to  heaven  to  watch  for  the  answer, 
and  perhaps  some  answers  sent  are  like  water  spilled 
on  the  ground,  for  want  of  such  observance. 

The  confidence  and  resolve  ground  themselves  on 
God’s  holiness,  through  which  the  necessary  condition 
of  approach  to  Him  comes  to  be  purity — a  conviction 
which  finds  expression  in  all  religions,  but  is  nowhere 
so  vividly  conceived  or  construed  as  demanding  such 
stainless  inward  whiteness  as  in  the  Psalter.  The 
“  for  ”  of  ver.  4  would  naturally  have  heralded  a  state¬ 
ment  of  the  psalmist’s  grounds  for  expecting  that  he 
would  be  welcomed  in  his  approach,  but  the  turn  of 
thought,  which  postpones  that,  and  first  regards  God’s 
holiness  as  shutting  out  the  impure,  is  profoundly 
significant.  “Thou  art  not  a  God  that  hath  pleasure 
in  wickedness”  means  more  than  the  simple  “Thou 
hast  not  pleasure  ”  would  do ;  it  argues  from  the 
character  of  God,  and  glances  at  some  of  the  foul 
deities  whose  nostrils  snuff  up  sensual  impurity  as 
acceptable  sacrifice.  The  one  idea  of  absolute  con¬ 
trariety  between  God  and  evil  is  put  in  a  rich  variety 
of  shapes  in  vv.  4-6,  which  first  deal  with  it  nega¬ 
tively  in  three  clauses  (not  a  God;  not  dwell ;  not  stand 
in  Thy  sight)  and  then  positively  in  other  three  (ha test; 
shalt  destroy ;  abhorreth).  “  Evil  shall  not  sojourn 


42 


THE  PSALMS. 


with  Thee.”  The  verb  is  to  be  taken  in  its  full  meaning 
of  sojourning  as  a  guest-friend,  who  has  the  right  to 
hospitality  and  defence.  It  thus  constitutes  the  anti¬ 
thesis  to  ver.  7.  Clearly  the  sojourning  does  not 
mean  access  to  the  temple,  but  abiding  with  God.  The 
barriers  are  of  the  same  nature  as  the  communion 
which  they  hinder,  and  something  far  deeper  is  meant 
than  outward  access  to  any  visible  shrine.  No  one 
sojourned  in  the  temple.  In  like  manner,  the  “  stand¬ 
ing  in  Thy  sight  ”  is  a  figure  drawn  from  courts, 
reminding  us  of  “my  King”  in  ver.  2  and  suggesting 
the  impossibility  of  evil  or  its  doers  approaching  the 
Divine  throne. 

But  there  is  more  than  a  negative  side  to  the 
relation  between  God  and  evil,  which  the  psalm  goes 
on  to  paint  in  sombre  colours,  for  God  not  only  does 
not  delight  in  sin,  but  hates  it  with  a  hatred  like  the 
physical  loathing  of  some  disgusting  thing,  and  will 
gather  all  His  alienation  into  one  fatal  lightning  bolt. 
Such  thoughts  do  not  exhaust  the  truth  as  to  the 
Divine  relation  to  sin.  They  did  not  exhaust  the 
psalmist’s  knowledge  of  that  relation,  and  still  less  do 
they  exhaust  ours,  but  they  are  parts  of  the  truth 
to-day  as  much  as  then,  and  nothing  in  Christ’s 
revelation  has  antiquated  them. 

The  psalmist’s  vocabulary  is  full  of  synonyms  for 
sin,  which  witness  to  the  profound  consciousness  of 
it  which  law  and  ritual  had  evoked  in  devout  hearts. 
First,  he  speaks  of  it  in  the  abstract,  as  “  wickedness  ” 
and  “evil.”  Then  he  passes  to  individuals,  of  whom 
he  singles  out  two  pairs,  the  first  a  more  comprehensive 
and  the  second  a  more  specific  designation.  The  former 
pair  are  “the  foolish”  and  “workers  of  iniquity.”  The 
word  for  “  foolish  ”  is  usually  translated  by  the  moderns 


v.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


43 


“  arrogant,”  but  the  parallelism  with  the  general  expres¬ 
sion  “  workers  of  iniquity  ”  rather  favours  a  less  special 
meaning,  such  as  Hupfeld’s  “fools”  or  the  LXX.’s 
u  transgressors.”  Only  in  the  last  pair  are  special 
forms  of  evil  mentioned,  and  the  two  selected  are 
significant  of  the  psalmist’s  own  experience.  Liars  and 
men  of  blood  and  craft  are  his  instances  of  the  sort 
of  sinners,  most  abominable  to  God.  That  specification 
surely  witnesses  to  his  own  sufferings  from  such. 

In  ver.  7  the  psalmist  comes  back  to  the  personal 
reference,  contrasting  his  own  access  to  God  with  the 
separation  of  evil-doers  from  His  presence.  But  he 
does  not  assert  that  he  has  the  right  of  entrance 
because  he  is  pure.  Very  strikingly  he  finds 'the  ground 
of  his  right  of  entry  to  the  palace  in  God’s  “  multitude 
,  of  mercy,”  not  in  his  own  innocence.  Answering  to 
“in  Thy  righteousness”  is  “in  Thy  fear.”  The  one 
phrase  expresses  God’s  disposition  to  man  which 
makes  access  possible,  the  other  man’s  disposition  to 
God  which  makes  worship  acceptable.  “  In  the  multi¬ 
tude  of  Thy  mercy  ”  and  “  in  Thy  fear,”  taken  together, 
set  forth  the  conditions  of  approach.  Having  regard 
to  ver.  4,  it  seems  impossible  to  restrict  the  meaning 
of  “Thy  house  ”  to  the  material  sanctuary.  It  is  rather 
a  symbol  of  communion,  protection,  and  friendship. 
Does  the  meaning  pass  into  the  narrower  sense  of 
outward  worship  in  the  material  “  temple  ”  in  the 
second  clause  ?  It  may  be  fairly  taken  as  doing  so 
(Hupfeld).  But  it  may  be  maintained  that  the  whole 
verse  refers  to  the  spiritual  realities  of  prayer  and 
fellowship,  and  not  at  all  to  the  externalities  of  worship, 
which  are  used  as  symbols,  just  as  in  ver.  3  prayer 
is  symbolised  by  the  morning  sacrifice.  But  probably 
it  is  better  to  suppose  that  the  psalmist’s  faith,  though 


44 


THE  PSALMS. 


not  tied  to  form,  was  fed  by  form,  and  that  symbol  and 
reality,  the  outward  and  the  inward  worship,  the  access 
to  the  temple  and  the  approach  of  the  silent  soul  to 
God,  are  fused  in  his  psalm  as  they  tended  to  be  in 
his  experience.  Thus  the  first  part  of  the  psalm  ends 
with  the  psalmist  prostrate  (for  so  the  word  for 
“  worship  ”  means)  before  the  palace  sanctuary  of  his 
King  and  God.  It  has  thus  far  taught  the  conditions 
of  approach  to  God,  and  given  a  concrete  embodi¬ 
ment  of  them  in  the  progress  of  the  singer’s  thoughts 
from  petition  to  assurance  and  from  resolve  to 
accomplishment. 

The  second  part  may  be  taken  as  his  prayer  when 
in  the  temple,  whether  that  be  the  outward  sanctuary 
or  no.  It  is  likewise  a  further  carrying  out  of  the 
contrast  of  the  condition  of  the  wicked  and  of  the 
lovers  of  God,  expressed  in  terms  applying  to  outward 
life  rather  than  to  worship.  It  falls  into  three  parts  : 
the  personal  prayer  for  guidance  in  life,  the  contempla¬ 
tion  of  evil-doers,  and  the  vehement  prayer  for  their 
destruction,  corresponding  to  vv.  4-6,  and  the  con¬ 
trasted  prayer  for  the  righteous,  among  whom  he  implies 
his  own  inclusion. 

The  whole  of  the  devout  man’s  desires  for  himself 
are  summed  up  in  that  prayer  for  guidance.  All  which 
the  soul  needs  is  included  in  thesp  two :  access  to  God 
in  the  depths  of  still  prostration  before  His  throne 
as  the  all-sufficient  good  for  the  inner  life ;  guidance, 
as  by  a  shepherd,  on  a  plain  path,  chosen  not  by  self- 
will  but  by  God,  for  the  outward.  He  who  has  received 
the  former  in  any  degree  will  in  the  same  measure 
have  the  latter.  To  dwell  in  God’s  house  is  to  desire 
His  guidance  as  the  chief  good.  “In  Thy  righteous¬ 
ness  ”  is  capable  of  two  meanings :  it  may  either 


vd 


THE  PSALMS. 


45 


designate  the  path  by  which  the  psalmist  desired  to 
be  led,  or  the  Divine  attribute  to  which  he  appealed. 
The  latter  meaning,  which  is  substantially  equivalent 
to  “  because  Thou  art  righteous,”  is  made  more  probable 
by  the  other  instances  in  the  psalm  of  a  similar  use  of 
“in”  (in  the  multitude  of  Thy  mercy;  in  Thy  fear ;  in 
the  multitude  of  their  transgressions).  His  righteous¬ 
ness  is  manifested  in  leading  those  who  seek  for  His 
guidance  (compare  Psalm  xxv.  8;  xxxi.  I,  etc.).  Then 
comes  the  only  trace  in  the  psalm  of  the  presence  of 
enemies,  because  of  whom  the  singer  prays  for  guidance. 
It  is  not  so  much  that  he  fears  falling  into  their  hands 
as  that  he  dreads  lest,  if  left  to  himself,  he  may  take 
some  step  which  will  give  them  occasion  for  malicious 
joy  in  his  fall  or  his  calamity.  Wherever  a  man  is 
earnestly  God-fearing,  many  eyes  watch  him,  and  gleam 
with  base  delight  if  they  see  him  stumble.  The 
psalmist,  whether  David  or  another,  had  that  cross  to 
carry,  like  every  thorough-going  adherent  of  the  religious 
ideal  (or  of  any  lofty  ideal,  for  that  matter) ;  and  his 
prayer  shows  how  heavy  it  was,  since  thoughts  of  it 
mingled  with  even  his  longings  for  righteousness. 
“  Plain  ”  does  not  mean  obvious ,  but  level,  and  may 
possibly  include  both  freedom  from  stumbling-blocks 
(“  Lead  us  not  into  temptation  ”)  and  from  calamities, 
but  the  prevalent  tone  of  the  psalm  points  rather  to 
the  former.  He  who  knows  his  own  weaknesses  may 
legitimately  shrink  from  snares  and  occasions  to  fall, 
even  though,  knowing  the  wisdom  of  his  Guide  and 
the  help  that  waits  on  his  steps,  he  may  “  count  it  all 
joy  ”  when  he  encounters  them. 

The  picture  of  the  evil-doers  in  ver.  9  is  introduced, 
as  in  ver.  4,  with  a  “for.”  The  sinners  here  are 
evidently  the  enemies  of  the  previous  verse  Their  sins 


46 


T11E  PSALMS. 


are  those  of  speech ;  and  the  force  of  the  rapid  clauses 
of  the  picture  betrays  how  recently  and  sorely  the 
psalmist  had  smarted  from  lies,  flatteries,  slanders,  and 
all  the  rest  of  the  weapons  of  smooth  and  bitter  tongues. 
He  complains  that  there  is  no  faithfulness  or  steadfast¬ 
ness  in  “  his  mouth  ” — a  distributive  singular,  which 
immediately  passes  into  the  plural — nothing  there  that 
a  man  can  rely  on,  but  all  treacherous.  “  Their  inward 
part  is  destruction.”  The  other  rendering,  “  engulfing 
ruin  ”  or  “  a  yawning  gulf,”  is  picturesque  ;  but  destruction 
is  more  commonly  the  meaning  of  the  woid  and  yields 
a  vigorous  sense  here.  They  plot  inwardly  the  ruin  of 
the  men  whom  they  flatter.  The  figure  is  bold.  Down 
to  this  pit  of  destruction  is  a  way  like  an  open  sepulchre, 
the  throat  expanded  in  the  act  of  speech  ;  and  the  falsely 
smoothed  tongue  is  like  a  slippery  approach  to  the 
descent  (so  Jennings  and  Lowe).  Such  figures  strike 
Western  minds  as  violent,  but  are  natural  to  the  East. 
The  shuddering  sense  of  the  deadly  power  of  words  is 
a  marked  characteristic  of  the  Psalter.  Nothing  stirs 
psalmists  to  deeper  indignation  than  “  God’s  great  gift 
of  speech  abused,”  and  this  generation  would  be  all  the 
better  for  relearning  the  lesson. 

The  psalmist  is  “in  the  sanctuary,”  and  there 
“  understands  their  end,”  and  breaks  into  prayer  which 
is  also  prophecy.  The  vindication  of  such  prayers  for 
the  destruction  of  evil-doers  is  that  they  are  not  the 
expressions  of  personal  enmity  (“They  have  rebelled 
against  Thee  ”),  and  that  they  correspond  to  one  side 
of  the  Divine  character  and  acts,  which  was  prominent 
in  the  Old  Testament  epoch  of  revelation,  and  is  not 
superseded  by  the  New.  But  they  do  belong  to  that 
lower  level ;  and  to  hesitate  to  admit  their  imperfection 
from  the  Christian  point  of  view  is  to  neglect  the  plain 


V.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


47 


teaching  of  our  Lord,  who  built  His  law  of  the  kingdom 
on  the  declared  relative  imperfection  of  the  ethics  of  the 
Old.  Terrible  indeed  are  the  prayers  here.  Hold  them 
guilty — that  is,  probably,  treat  them  as  such  by  punish¬ 
ing;  let  them  fall ;  thrust  them  out — from  Thy  presence,  if 
they  have  ventured  thither,  or  out  into  the  darkness  of 
death.  Let  us  be  thankful  that  we  dare  not  pray  such 
prayers,  but  let  us  not  forget  that  for  the  psalmist  not 
to  have  prayed  them  would  have  indicated,  not  that  he 
had  anticipated  the  tenderness  of  the  Gospel,  but  that 
he  had  failed  to  learn  the  lesson  of  the  law  and  was 
basely  tolerant  of  baseness. 

But  we  come  into  the  sunshine  again  at  the  close, 
and  hear  the  contrasted  prayer,  which  thrills  with 
gladness  and  hope.  “  When  the  wicked  perish  there 
is  shouting.”  The  servants  of  God,  relieved  from  the 
incubus  and  beholding  the  fall  of  evil,  lift  up  their 
praises.  The  order  in  which  the  designations  of  these 
servants  occur  is  very  noteworthy.  It  is  surely  not 
accidental  that  we  have  them  first  described  as  “  those 
that  trust  in  Thee,”  then  as  “  all  them  that  love  Thy 
name,”  and  finally  as  “the  righteous.”  What  is  this 
sequence  but  an  anticipation  of  the  evangelical  order  ? 
The  root  of  all  is  trust,  then  love,  then  righteousness. 

Love  follows  trust.  “We  have  known  and  believed 

* 

the  love  which  God  hath  to  us.”  Righteousness  follows 
trust  and  love,  inasmuch  as  by  faith  the  new  life  enters 
the  heart  and  inasmuch  as  love  supplies  the  great 
motive  for  keeping  the  commandments.  So  root,  stem, 
and  flower  are  here,  wrapped  up,  as  it.  were,  in  a  seed, 
which  unfolds  into  full  growth  in  the  New  Testament. 
The  literal  meaning  of  the  word  rendered  “put  their 
trust”  is  “flee  as  to  a  refuge,”  and  that  beautifully 
expresses  the  very  essence  of  the  act  of  faith  ;  while  the 


48 


THE  PSALMS. 


same  metaphor  is  carried  on  in  “  defendest,”  which 
literally  means  coverest.  The  fugitive  who  shelters  in 
God  is  covered  by  the  shadow  of  His  wing.  Faith, 
love,  and  righteousness  are  the  conditions  of  the  purest 
joy.  Trust  is  joy  ;  love  is  joy  ;  obedience  to  a  loved  law 
is  joy.  And  round  him  who  thus,  in  his  deepest  self, 
dwells  in  God’s  house  and  in  his  daily  life  walks,  with 
these  angels  for  his  companions,  on  God’s  path,  which 
by  choice  he  has  made  his  own,  there  is  ever  cast  the 
broad  buckler  of  God’s  favour.  He  is  safe  from  all  evil 
on  whom  God  looks  with  love,  and  he  on  whom  God 
so  looks  is  he  whose  heart  dwells  in  God’s  house  and 
whose  feet  “travel  on  life’s  common  way  in  cheerful 
godliness.” 


PSALM  VI. 


1  Jehovah,  not  in  Thine  anger  do  Thou  correct  me, 

And  not  in  Thy  hot  wrath  do  Thou  chastise  me. 

2  Be  gracious  to  me,  Jehovah,  for  I  am  withered  away; 

Heal  me,  Jehovah,  for  my  bones  are  dismayed  : 

3  And  my  soul  is  sorely  dismayed  ; 

And  Thou,  Jehovah — how  long  ? 

4  Return,  Jehovah,  deliver  my  soul; 

Save  me  for  the  sake  of  Thy  loving-kindness. 

5  For  in  death  there  is  no  remembrance  of  Thee  ; 

In  Sheol  who  gives  thee  thanks  ? 

6  I  am  wearied  out  with  my  groaning ; 

Every  night  I  make  my  bed  swim ; 

With  my  tears  I  melt  away  my  couch. 

7  My  eye  is  wasted  with  trouble ; 

It  is  aged  because  of  all  my  oppressors. 

8  Depart  from  me,  all  ye  workers  of  iniquity, 

For  Jehovah  has  heard  the  voice  of  my  weeping. 

9  Jehovah  has  heard  my  supplication  ; 

Jehovah  will  accept  my  prayer. 

IO  Ashamed  and  sore  dismayed  shall  be  all  my  enemies; 

They  shall  turn  back,  shall  be  ashamed  in  a  moment. 

THE  theme  and  progress  of  thought  in  this  psalm 
are  very  common,  especially  in  those  attributed 
to  David.  A  soul  compassed  by  enemies,  whose  hate 
has  all  but  sapped  the  life  out  of  it,  “  catches  at  God’s 
skirts  and  prays,”  and  thence  wins  confidence 
which  anticipates  deliverance  and  victory.  There  are 
numerous  variations  of  this  leitmotif  and  each  of  the 
psalms  which  embody  it  has  its  own  beauty,  its  own 

49  4 


50 


THE  PSALMS. 


discords  resolved  into  its  own  harmonies.  The  repre¬ 
sentation  of  the  trouble  of  spirit  as  producing  wasting 
of  the  body  is  also  frequent,  and  is  apparently  not  to 
be  taken  as  metaphor,  though  not  to  be  pressed,  as  if 
the  psalmist  were  at  once  struck  with  the  two  calamities 
of  hostility  and  disease,  but  the  latter  is  simply  the 
result  of  the  former,  and  will  disappear  with  it.  It  is 
needless  to  look  for  a  historical  occasion  of  the  psalm, 
but  to  an  ear  that  knows  the  tones  of  sorrow,  or  to 
a  heart  that  has  itself  uttered  them,  the  supposition 
that  in  these  pathetic  cries  we  hear  only  a  representa¬ 
tive  Israelite  bewailing  the  national  ruin  sounds 
singularly  artificial.  If  ever  the  throb  of  personal 
anguish  found  tears  and  a  voice,  it  does  so  in  this 
psalm.  Whoever  wrote  it  wrote  with  his  blood.  There 
are  in  it  no  obvious  references..tc>_events  in  the  recorded 
life  of  David,  and  hence  the  ascription  of  it  to  him 
must  rest  on  something  else  than  the  interpretation  of 
the  psalm.  The  very  absence  of  such  allusions  is 
a  fact  to  be  dealt  with  by  those  who  deny  the  accuracy 
of  the  attribution  of  authorship.  But,  however  that 
question  may  be  settled,  the  worth  of  this  little  plain¬ 
tive  cry  depends  on  quite  other  considerations  than  the 
discovery  of  the  name  of  the  singer  or  the  nature  of 
his  sorrow.  It  is  a  transcript  of  a  perennial  expe¬ 
rience,  a  guide  for  a  road  which  all  feet  have  to  travel. 
Its  stream  runs  turbid  and  broken  at  first,  but  calms 
and  clears  as  it  flows.  It  has  four  curves  or  windings, 
which  can  scarcely  be  called  strophes  without  making 
too  artificial  a  framework  for  such  a  simple  and 
spontaneous  gush  of  feeling.  Still  the  transitions  are 
clear  enough. 

In  vv.  1-3  we  have  a  cluster  of  sharp,  short  cries 
to  God  for  help,  which  all  mean  the  same  thing.  In 


THE  PSALMS. 


5i 


vi.] 

each  of  these  the  great  name  of  Jehovah  is  repeated, 
and  in  each  the  plea  urged  is  simply  the  sore  need  of 
the  suppliant.  These  are  no  “  vain  repetitions,”  which 
are  pressed  out  of  a  soul  by  the  grip  of  the  rack  ;  and 
it  is  not  “  taking  the  name  of  the  Lord  in  vain  ”  when 
four  times  in  three  short  verses  the  passionate  cry  for 
help  is  winged  with  it  as  the  arrow  with  its  feather. 
Two  thoughts  fill  the  psalmist’s  consciousness,  or  rather 
one  thought — the  Lord — and  one  feeling — his  pains. 
In  ver.  1  the  Hebrew  makes  “in  Thine  anger”  and 
“in  Thine  hot  wrath”  emphatic  by  setting  these  two 
phrases  between  the  negative  and  the  verb  :  “Not 
in  Thine  anger  rebuke  me ;  not  in  Thy  heat  chasten 
me.”  He  is  willing  to  submit  to  both  rebuke  and 
chastisement ;  but  he  shrinks  appalled  from  that  form 
of  either  which  tends  to  destruction,  not  to  betterment. 

t 

There  are  chastisements  in  tenderness,  which  express 
God’s  love,  and  there  are  others  which  manifest  His 
alienation  and  wrath.  This  psalmist  did  not  think  that 
all  Divine  retribution  was  intended  for  reformation. 
To  him  there  was  such  a  thing  as  wrath  which  slew. 
Jeremiah  has  the  same  distinction  (x.  24),  and  the 
parallel  has  been  made  an  argument  for  the  later 
date  of  the  psalm.  Cheyne  and  others  assume  that 
Jeremiah  is  the  original,  but  that  is  simple  conjecture, 
and  the  prophet’s  conspicuous  fondness  for  quotations 
from  older  authors  makes  the  supposition  more  probable 
that  the  psalm  is  the  earlier.  Resignation  and  shrink¬ 
ing  blend  in  that  cry,  in  which  a  heart  conscious  of 
evil  confesses  as  well  as  implores,  recognises  the 
justice  and  yet  deprecates  the  utmost  severity  of  the 
blow.  He  who  asks,  “Not  in  Thine  anger  rebuke  me,” 
thereby  submits  to  loving  chastisement. 

Then  follow  in  vv.  2  and  3  three  short  petitions, 


52 


THE  PSALMS. 


J 


which  are  as  much  cries  of  pain  as  prayers,  and  as 
much  prayers  as  cries  of  pain.  In  the  two  former 
the  prayer  is  put  first,  and  its  plea  second ;  in  the 
last  the  order  is  reversed,  and  so  the  whole  is,  as 
it  were,  enclosed  in  a  circlet  of  prayer.  Two  words 
make  the  petition  in  each  clause,  “  Have  mercy  on  me, 
Jehovah”  (tastelessly  corrected  by  Gratz  into  “ Revive 
me  ”),  and  “  Heal  me,  Jehovah.”  The  third  petition  is 
daring  and  pregnant  in  its  incompleteness.  In  that 
emphatic  “And  Thou,  Jehovah,”  the  psalmist  looks 
up,  with  almost  reproach  in  his  gaze,  to  the  infinite 
Personality  which  seems  so  unaccountably  passive. 
The  hours  that  bring  pain  are  leaden-footed,  and  their 
moments  each  seem  an  eternity.  The  most  patient 
sufferer  may  cry,  “  How  long  ?  ”  and  God  will  not 
mistake  the  voice  of  pain  for  that  of  impatience.  This 
threefold  prayer,  with  its  triple  invocation,  has  a  triple 
plea,  which  is  all  substantially  one.  His  misery  fills 
the  psalmist’s  soul,  and  he  believes  that  God  will  feel 
for  him.  He  does  not  at  first  appeal  to  God’s  revealed 
character,  except  in  so  far  as  the  plaintive  reiteration 
of  the  Divine  name  carries  such  an  appeal,  but  he 
spreads  out  his  own  wretchedness,  and  he  who  does 
that  has  faith  in  God’s  pity.  “  I  am  withered  away,” 
like  a  faded  flower.  “  My  bones  are  vexed  ”  ; — the 
physical  effects  of  his  calamity,  “  bones  ”  being  put  for 
the  whole  body,  and  regarded  as  the  seat  of  sensibility, 
as  is  frequently  the  usage.  “  Vexed  ”  is  too  weak  a 
rendering.  The  idea  is  that  of  the  utmost  consterna¬ 
tion.  Not  only  the  body,  but  the  soul,  partakes  in  the 
dismay.  The  “  soul  ”  is  even  more  shaken  than  the 
“bones”;  that  is  to  say,  mental  agitation  rather  than 
physical  disease  (and  the  latter  as  the  result  of  the 
former)  troubles  the  psalmist.  We  can  scarcely  fail 


vi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


53 


to  remember  the  added  sanctity  which  these  plaintive 
words  have  received,  since  they  were  used  by  the 
Prince  of  sufferers  when  all  but  in  sight  of  the  cross. 

The  next  turn  of  thought  includes  vv.  4,  5,  and 
is  remarkable  for  the  new  pleas  on  which  it  rests  the 
triple  prayer,  a  Return  ;  deliver ;  save.”  God  is  His 
own  motive,  and  His  self-revelation  in  act  must  always 
be  self-consistent.  Therefore  the  plea  is  presented, 
“for  Thy  loving-kindness’  sake.”  It  beseeches  Him 
to  be  what  He  is,  and  to  show  Himself  as  still  being 
what  He  had  always  been.  The  second  plea  is  striking 
both  in  its  view  of  the  condition  of  the  dead  and  in 
its  use  of  that  view  as  an  argument  with  God.  Like 
many  other  psalmists,  the  writer  thinks  of  Sheol  as  the 
common  gathering-place  of  the  departed,  a  dim  region 
where  they  live  a  poor  shadowy  life,  inactive,  joyless, 
and  all  but  godless,  inasmuch  as  praise,  service,  and 
fellowship  with  Him  have  ceased. 

That  view  is  equally  compatible  with  the  belief  in 
a  resurrection  and  the  denial  of  it,  for  it  assumes  con¬ 
tinued  individual  consciousness.  It  is  the  prevailing 
tone  in  the  Psalter  and  in  Job  and  Ecclesiastes.  But 
in  some  psalms,  which  embody  the  highest  rapture  of 
inward  and  mystical  devotion,  the  sense  of  present 
union  with  God  bears  up  the  psalmist  into  the  sunlight 
of  the  assurance  that  against  such  a  union  death  can 
have  no  power,  and  we  see  the  hope  of  immortality 
in  the  very  act  of  dawning  on  the  devout  soul.  May 
we  not  say  that  the  subjective  experience  of  the  reality 
of  communion  with  God  now  is  still  the  path  by  which 
the  certainty  of  its  perpetuity  in  a  future  life  is  reached  ? 
The  objective  proof  in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  verified  by  this  experience.  The  psalmists  had  not 
the  former,  but,  having  the  latter,  they  attained  to  at 


54 


THE  PSALMS. 


all  events  occasional  confidence  in  a  blessed  life  beyond. 
But  the  tone  of  such  triumphant  glimpses  as  xvi.  10, 
xvii.  15,  xlix.  15,  lxxiii.  24,  is  of  a  higher  mood 
than  that  of  this  and  other  psalms,  which  probably 
represent  the  usual  view  of  devout  Hebrews. 

The  fact,  as  it  appeared  to  those  at  the  then  stage 
of  revelation,  that  remembrance  and  praise  of  God 
were  impossible  in  Sheol,  is  urged  as  a  plea.  That 
implies  the  psalmist’s  belief  that  God  cared  for  men’s 
praise — a  thought  which  may  be  so  put  as  to  make 
Him  an  almighty  Selfishness,  but  which  in  its  true 
aspect  is  the  direct  inference  from  the  faith  that  He 
is  infinite  Love.  It  is  the  same  sweet  thought  of  Him 
which  Browning  has  when  he  makes  God  say,  u  I  miss 
my  little  human  praise.”  God’s  joy  in  men’s  praise  is 
joy  in  men’s  love  and  in  their  recognition  of  His  love. 

The  third  turn  of  feeling  is  in  vv.  6  and  7.  The 
sense  of  his  own  pains  which,  in  the  two  previous  parts 
of  the  psalm,  had  been  contending  with  the  thought  of 
God,  masters  the  psalmist  in  these  dreary  verses,  in 
which  the  absence  of  the  name  of  God  is  noteworthy  as 
expressive  of  his  absorption  in  brooding  over  his  misery. 
The  vehemence  of  the  manifestations  of  sorrow  and  the 
frankness  of  the  record  of  these  manifestations  in  the 
song  are  characteristic  of  the  emotional,  demonstrative 
Eastern  temperament,  and  strike  our  more  reticent 
dispositions  as  excessive.  But  however  expressed  in 
unfamiliar  terms,  the  emotion  which  wails  in  these  sad 
verses  is  only  too  familiar  to  men  of  all  temperaments. 
All  sad  hearts  are  tempted  to  shut  out  God  and  to 
look  only  at  their  griefs.  There  is  a  strange  pleasure 
in  turning  round  the  knife  in  the  wound  and  recounting 
the  tokens  of  misery.  This  man  feels  some  ease  in 
telling  how  he  had  exhausted  his  strength  with  groan- 


Vi,] 


THE  PSALMS. 


55 


ing  and  worn  away  the  sleepless  night  with  weeping. 
Night  is  ever  the  nurse  of  heavy  thought,  and 
stings  burn  again  then.  The  hyperbolical  expressions 
that  he  had  set  his  bed  afloat  with  his  tears  and 
“melted”  it  (as  the  word  means)  are  matched  by  the 
other  hyperboles  which  follow,  describing  the  effect 
of  this  unmeasured  weeping  on  his  eyes.  He  had 
wept  them  away,  and  they  were  bleared  and  dim  like 
those  of  an  old  man.  The  cause  of  this  passion  of 
weeping  is  next  expressed,  in  plain  words,  which 
connect  this  turn  of  the  thought  with  the  next  verses, 
and  seem  to  explain  the  previously  mentioned  physical 
pains  as  either  metaphorical  or  consequent  on  the 
hostility  of  “  mine  adversaries.” 

But  even  while  thus  his  spirit  is  bitterly  burying 
itself  in  his  sorrows  the  sudden  certaintv  of  the  answer 
to  his  prayer  flashes  on  him.  “  Sometimes  a  light 
surprises,”  as  Cowper,  who  too  well  knew  what  it 
was  to  be  worn  with  groaning,  has  sung.  That  swift 
conviction  witnesses  its  origin  in  a  Divine  inspiration 
by  its  very  suddenness.  Nothing  has  changed  in  cir¬ 
cumstances,  but  everything  has  changed  in  aspect. 
Wonder  and  exultation  throb  in  the  threefold  assur¬ 
ance  that  the  prayer  is  heard.  In  the  two  former 
clauses  the  “  hearing  ”  is  regarded  as  a  present  act  ; 
in  the  latter  the  “receiving”  is  looked  for  in  the  future. 
The  process,  which  is  usually  treated  as  one  simple  act, 
is  here  analysed.  “  God  has  heard ;  therefore  God 
will  receive” — i.e.,  answer — “my  weeping  prayer.” 
Whence  came  that  confidence  but  from  the  breath  of 
God  on  the  troubled  spirit  ?  “  The  peace  of  God  ”  is 

ever  the  reward  of  submissive  prayer.  In  this  confi¬ 
dence  a  man  can  front  the  close-knit  ring  of  enemies, 
of  whatever  sort  they  be,  and  bid  them  back.  Their 


THE  PSALMS. 


56 

triumphant  dismissal  is  a  vivid  way  of  expressing  the 
certainty  of  their  departure,  with  their  murderous  hate 
unslaked  and  baulked.  “Mine  enemies”  are  “workers 
of  iniquity.”  That  is  a  daring  assumption,  made  still 
more  remarkable  by  the  previous  confession  that  the 
psalmist’s  sorrow  was  God’s  rebuke  and  chastening. 
But  a  man  has  the  right  to  believe  that  his  cause  is 
God’s  in  the  measure  in  which  he  makes  God’s  cause 
his.  In  the  confidence  of  prayer  heard,  the  psalmist  can 
see  “things  that  are  not  as  though  they  were,”  and, 
though  no  change  has  passed  on  the  beleaguering 
hosts,  triumphs  in  their  sure  rout  and  retreat.  Very 
significantly  does  he  predict  in  ver.  10  the -same  fate 
for  them  which  he  had  bewailed  as  his  own.  The 
“dismay”  which  had  afflicted  his  soul  shall  pass  to 
them  (“  sore  vexed  ”).  Since  God  “  returns  ”  (ver.  4), 
the  enemy  will  have  to  “return”  in  baffled  abandon¬ 
ment  of  their  plans,  and  be  “  ashamed  ”  at  the  failure 
of  their  cruel  hopes.  And  all  this  will  come  as 
suddenly  as  the  glad  conviction  had  started  up  in  the 
troubled  heart  of  the  singer.  His  outward  life  shall 
be  as  swiftly  rescued  as  his  inward  has  been.  One 
gleam  of  God’s  presence  in  his  soul  had  lit  its  darkness, 
and  turned  tears  into  sparkling  homes  of  the  rainbow ; 
one  flash  of  that  same  presence  in  his  outward  life 
shall  scatter  all  his  foes  with  like  swiftness. 


PSALM  VII. 


1  Jehovah,  my  God,  in  Thee  I  take  refuge; 

Save  me  from  all  my  pursuers,  and  deliver  me, 

2  Lest  like  a  lion  he  tear  my  soul,  breaking  it  while  there  is  no 

deliverer. 

3  Jehovah,  my  God,  if  I  have  done  this, 

If  there  is  iniquity  in  my  hands, 

4  If  I  have  repaid  evil  to  him  who  was  at  peace  with  me  — 

Nay,  I  have  delivered  him  that  was  my  enemy  causelessly — 

5  May  the  enemy  chase  my  soul  and  overtake  it,  and  trample  my 

life  to  the  ground  ! 

And  may  he  lay  my  honour  in  the  dust !  Selah. 

6  Arise,  Jehovah,  in  Thine  anger  ; 

Lift  up  Thyself  against  the  ragings  of  my  adversaries, 

And  awake  for  me :  judgment  Thou  hast  appointed. 

7  And  let  a  gathering  of  peoples  stand  round  Thee, 

And  above  it  sit  Thou  on  high. 

8  Jehovah  will  judge  the  peoples  ; 

Do  me  right,  Jehovah,  according  to  my  righteousness  and  accord¬ 
ing  to  my  innocence  [that  is]  upon  me. 

9  Let  the  evil  of  the  wicked  come  to  an  end,  and  establish  Thou 

the  righteous, 

For  a  Trier  of  hearts  and  reins  is  God  the  righteous. 

10  My  shield  is  upon  God, 

The  Saviour  of  the  upright-hearted. 

11  God  is  a  righteous  Judge, 

And  a  God  who  is  angry  every  day. 

12  If  [a  man]  turn  not,  He  will  sharpen  His  sword  ; 

His  bow  He  has  bent,  and  made  it  ready. 

13  And  at  him  He  has  aimed  deadly  weapons; 

His  arrows  He  will  kindle  into  flaming  darts. 

14  See  !  he  is  in  labour  with  wickedness  ; 

Yea,  he  is  pregnant  with  mischief,  and  gives  birth  to  a  lie. 

57 


THE  PSALMS. 


15  A  pit  has  he  sunk,  and  dug  it  out; 

And  he  will  fall  into  the  hole  he  is  making. 

16  His  mischief  shall  come  back  on  his  own  head, 

And  upon  his  own  skull  shall  his  violence  come  down. 

17  I  will  thank  Jehovah  according  to  His  righteousness, 

And  sing  with  the  harp  to  the  name  of  Jehovah  most  high. 


HIS  is  the  only  psalm  with  the  title  “Shiggaion.” 


X  The  word  occurs  only  here  and  in  Hab.  iii.  I, 
where  it  stands  in  the  plural,  and  with  the  preposition 
“  upon,”  as  if  it  designated  instruments.  The  meaning 
is  unknown,  and  commentators,  who  do  not  like  to  say 
so,  have  much  ado  to  find  one.  The  root  is  a  verb, 
“  to  wander,”  and  the  explanation  is  common  that  the 
word  describes  the  disconnected  character  of  the  psalm, 
which  is  full  of  swiftly  succeeding  emotions  rather  than 
of  sequent  thoughts.  But  there  is  no  such  exceptional 
discontinuity  as  to  explain  the  title.  It  may  refer  to 
the  character  of  the  musical  accompaniment  rather  than 
to  that  of  the  words.  The  authorities  are  all  at  sea, 
the  LXX.  shirking  the  difficulty  by  rendering  “  psalm,” 
others  giving  “  error”  or  “  ignorance,”  with  allusion  to 
David’s  repentance  after  cutting  off  Saul’s  skirt  or  to 
Saul’s  repentance  of  his  persecuting  David.  The  later 
Jewish  writers  quoted  by  Neubauer  (“  Studia  Biblic.,” 
ii.  36,  sq.)  guess  at  most  various  meanings,  such  as 
“love  and  pleasure,”  “occupation  with  music,”  “afflic¬ 
tion,”  “  humility,”  while  others,  again,  explain  it  as  the 
name  of  a  musical  instrument.  Clearly  the  antiquity 
of  the  title  is  proved  by  this  unintelligibility.  If  we 
turn  to  the  other  part  of  it,  we  find  further  evidence 
of  age  and  of  independence.  Who  was  “  Cush,  a  Ben- 
jamite  ”  ?  He  is  not  mentioned  elsewhere.  The  author 
of  the  title,  then,  had  access  to  some  sources  for  David’s 
life  other  than  the  Biblical  records ;  and,  as  Hupfeld 


vii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


59 


acknowledges,  we  have  here  evidence  of  ancient  ascrip¬ 
tion  of  authorship  which  “  has  more  weight  than  most 
of  the  others.”  Cush  has  been  supposed  to  be  Shimei 
or  Saul  himself,  and  to  have  been  so  called  because  of 
his  swarthy  complexion  (Cush  meaning  an  African)  or 
as  a  jest,  because  of  his  personal  beauty.  Cheyne, 
following  Krochmal,  would  correct  into  “  because  of 
[Mordecai]  the  son  of  Kish,  a  Benjamite,”  and  finds  in 
this  entirely  conjectural  and  violent  emendation  an 
“  attestation  that  the  psalm  was  very  early  regarded 
as  a  work  of  the  Persian  age  ”  (“  Orig.  of  Psalt.,”  p.  229). 
But  there  is  really  no  reason  of  weight  for  denying 
the  Davidic  authorship,  as  Ewald,  Hitzig,  Hupfeld,  and 
Riehm  allow ;  and  there  is  much  in  I  Sam.  xxiv.-xxvi. 
correspondent  with  the  situation  and  emotions  of  the 
psalmist  here,  such  3.s}e.g.,  the  protestations  of  innocence, 
the  calumnies  launched  at  him,  and  the  call  on  God  to 
judge.  The  tone  of  the  psalm  is  high  and  courageous, 
in  remarkable  contrast  to  the  depression  of  spirit  in 
the  former  psalm,  up  out  of  which  the  singer  had  to 
pray  himself.  Here,  on  the  contrary,  he  fronts  the 
enemy,  lion-like  though  he  be,  without  a  quiver.  It 
is  the  courage  of  innocence  and  of  trust.  Psalm  vi. 
wailed  like  some  soft  flute ;  Psalm  vii.  peals  like  the 
trumpet  of  judgment,  and  there  is  triumph  in  the  note. 
The  whole  may  be  divided  into  three  parts,  of  which 
the  close  of  the  first  is  marked  by  the  Selah  at  the  end 
of  ver.  5  ;  and  the  second  includes  vv.  6-10.  Thus  we 
have  the  appeal  of  innocence  for  help  (vv.  1-5),  the 
cry  for  more  than  help — namely,  definite  judgment 
(vv.  6-10) — and  the  vision  of  judgment  (vv.  n-17). 

The  first  section  has  two  main  thoughts  :  the  cry  for 
help  and  the  protestation  of  innocence.  It  is  in 
accordance  with  the  bold  triumphant  tone  of  the  psalm 


6o 


THE  PSALMS. 


that  its  first  words  are  a  profession  of  faith  in  Jehovah. 
It  is  well  to  look  to  God  before  looking  at  dangers  and 
foes.  He  who  begins  with  trust  can  go  on  to  think 
of  the  fiercest  antagonism  without  dismay.  Many  of 
the  psalms  ascribed  to  David  begin  thus,  but  it  is  no 
mere  stereotyped  formula.  Each  represents  a  new 
act  of  faith,  in  the  presence  of  a  new  danger.  The 
word  for  “  put  trust ”  here  is  very  illuminative  and 
graphic,  meaning  properly  the  act  of  fleeing  to  a  refuge. 
It  is  sometimes  blended  with  the  image  of  a  sheltering 
rock,  sometimes  with  the  still  tenderer  one  of  a  mother- 
bird,  as  when  Ruth  “came  to  trust  under  the  wings 
of  Jehovah,”  and  in  many  other  places.  -The  very 
essence  of  the  act  of  faith  is  better  expressed  by  that 
metaphor  than  by  much  subtle  exposition.  Its  blessed¬ 
ness  as  bringing  security  and  warm  shelter  and  tender¬ 
ness  more  than  maternal  is  wrapped  up  in  the  sweet 
and  instructive  figure.  The  many  enemies  are,  as  it 
were,  embodied  in  one,  on  whom  the  psalmist  con¬ 
centrates  his  thoughts  as  the  most  formidable  and 
fierce.  The  metaphor  of  the  lion  is  common  in  the 
psalms  attributed  to  David,  and  is,  at  all  events,  natural 
in  the  mouth  of  a  shepherd  king,  who  had  taken  a 
lion  by  the  beard.  He  is  quite  aware  of  his  peril,  if 
God  does  not  help  him,  but  he  is  so  sure  of  his  safety, 
since  he  trusts,  that  he  can  contemplate  the  enemy’s 
power  unmoved,  like  a  man  standing  within  arm’s 
length  of  the  lion’s  open  jaws,  but  with  a  strong 
grating  between.  This  is  the  blessing  of  true  faith,  not 
the  oblivion  of  dangers,  but  the  calm  fronting  of  them 
because  our  refuge  is  in  God. 

Indignant  repelling  of  slander  follows  the  first  burst 
of  triumphant  trust  (vv.  3-5).  Apparently  “the  words 
of  Cush  ”  were  calumnies  poisoning  Saul’s  suspicious 


vii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


61 


nature,  such  as  David  refers  to  in  I  Sam.  xxiv.  9 : 
“  Wherefore  hearkenest  thou  to  men’s  words,  saying, 
Behold,  David  seeketh  thy  hurt  ?  ”  The  emphatic 
and  enigmatic  This  in  ver.  3  is  unintelligible,  unless 
it  refers  to  some  slander  freshly  coined,  the  base 
malice  of  which  stirs  its  object  into  flashing  anger 
and  vehement  self-vindication.  The  special  point  of 
the  falsehood  is  plain  from  the  repudiation.  He  had 
been  charged  with  attempting  to  injure  one  who  was  at 
peace  with  him.  That  is  exactly  what  “men’s  words  ” 
charged  on  David,  “  saying,  Behold,  David  seeketh  thy 
hurt”  (1  Samuel,  as  above).  “If  there  be  iniquity 
in  my  hands  ”  is  very  like  “  See  that  there  is  neither 
evil  nor  transgression  in  mine  hand,  and  I  have  not 
sinned  against  thee  ”  ;  “  Thou  huntest  after  my  soul 
to  take  it”  (1  Samuel)  is  also  like  our  ver.  1  :  “them  that 
pursue  me,”  and  ver.  5  :  “let  the  enemy  pursue  my 
soul  and  overtake  it.”  The  specific  form  of  this  protesta¬ 
tion  of  innocence  finds  no  explanation  in  the  now 
favourite  view  of  the  sufferer  in  the  psalm  as  being  the 
righteous  nation.  The  clause  which  is  usually  treated 
as  a  parenthesis  in  ver.  4,  and  translated,  as  in  the 
R.V.,  “I  have  delivered  him  that  without  cause  was 
mine  adversary,”  is  needlessly  taken  by  Delitzsch  and 
others  as  a  continuation  of  the  hypothetical  clauses,  and 
rendered,  with  a  change  in  the  meaning  of  the  verb, 
“And  if  I  have  despoiled  him,”  etc.;  but  it  is  better 
taken  as  above  and  referred  to  the  incident  in  the  cave 
when  David  spared  Saul’s  life.  What  meaning  would 
that  clause  have  with  the  national  reference?  The 
metaphor  of  a  wild  beast  in  chase  of  its  prey  colours 
the  vehement  declaration  in  ver.  5  of  readiness  to 
suffer  if  guilty.  We  see  the  swift  pursuit,  the  victim 
overtaken  and  trampled  to  death.  There  may  also 


62 


THE  PSALMS. 


be  an  echo  of  the  Song  of  Miriam  (Exod.  xv.  9)  :  “The 
enemy  said,  I  will  pursue;  I  will  overtake.’’  To  “lay 
my  glory  in  the  dust”  is  equivalent  to  “bring  down 
my  soul  to  the  dust  of  death.”  Man’s  glory  is  his 
“soul.”  Thus,  nobly  throbbing  with  conscious  innocence 
and  fronting  unmerited  hate,  the  rush  of  words  stops, 
to  let  the  musical  accompaniment  blare  on,  for  a  while, 
as  if’  defiant  and  confident. 

The  second  section  of  the  psalm  (vv.  6-10)  is  a  cry 
for  the  coming  of  the  Divine  Judge.  The  previous 
prayer  was  content  with  deliverance,  but  this  takes  a 
bolder  flight,  and  asks  for  the  manifestation  of  the 
punitive  activity  of  God  on  the  enemies,  who,  as 
usually,  are  identified  with  “  evil-doers.”  The  grand 
metaphors  in  “Arise,”  “Lift  up  Thyself,”  “Awake,”  mean 
substantially  the  same  thing.  The  long  periods  during 
which  evil  works  and  flaunts  with  impunity  are  the 
times  when  God  sits  as  if  passive  and,  in  a  figure  still 
more  daring,  as  if  asleep.  When  His  destructive  power 
flashed  into  act,  and  some  long-tolerated  iniquity  was 
smitten  at  a  blow,  the  Hebrew  singers  saw  therein  God 
springing  to  His  feet  or  awaking  to  judgment.  Such 
long  stretches  of  patient  permission  of  evil  and  of  swift 
punishment  are  repeated  through  the  ages,  and  individual 
lives  have  them  in  miniature.  The  great  judgments  of 
nations  and  the  small  ones  of  single  men  embody  the 
same  principles,  just  as  the  tiniest  crystal  has  the  same 
angles  and  lines  of  cleavage  as  the  greatest  of  its  kind. 
So  this  psalmist  has  penetrated  to  a  true  discernment 
of  the  relations  of  the  small  and  the  great,  when  he 
links  his  own  vindication  by  the  judicial  act  of  God  with 
the  pomp  and  splendour  of  a  world-wide  judgment,  and 
bases  his  prayer  for  the  former  on  the  Divine  purpose 
to  effect  the  latter.  The  sequence,  “  The  Lord  minis- 


vii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


63 


tereth  judgment  to  the  peoples” — therefore — “judge 
me,  0  Lord,”  does  not  imply  that  the  “me”  is  the 
nation,  but  simply  indicates  as  the  ground  of  the 
individual  hope  of  a  vindicating  judgment  the  Divine 
fact,  of  which  history  had  given  him  ample  proof  and 
faith  gave  him  still  fuller  evidence,  that  God,  though 
He  sometimes  seemed  to  sleep,  did  indeed  judge  the 
nations.  The  prerogative  of  the  poet,  and  still  more, 
the  instinct  of  the  inspired  spirit,  is  to  see  the  law  of 
the  greatest  exemplified  in  the  small  and  to  bring  every 
triviality  of  personal  life  into  contact  with  God  and  His 
government.  The  somewhat  harsh  construction  of  the 
last  clause  of  ver.  6  begins  the  transition  from  the 
prayer  for  the  smaller  to  the  assurance  of  the  greater 
judgment  which  is  its  basis,  and  similarly  the  first 
clause  of  ver.  8  closes  the  picture  of  that  wider  act, 
and  the  next  clause  returns  to  the  prayer.  This 
picture,  thus  embedded  in  the  heart  of  the  supplication, 
is  majestic  in  its  few  broad  strokes.  First  comes  the 
appointment  of  judgment,  then  the  assembling  of  the 
“peoples,”  which  here  may,  perhaps,  have  the  nar¬ 
rower  meaning  of  the  “tribes,”  since  “congregation” 
is  the  word  used  for  them  in  their  national  assembly, 
and  would  scarcely  be  employed  for  the  collection  of 
Gentile  nations.  But  whether  the  concourse  be  all 
Israel  or  all  nations,  they  are  gathered  in  silent 
expectance  as  in  a  great  judgment-hall.  Then  enters 
the  Judge.  If  we  retain  the  usual  reading  and  rendering 
of  ver.  7  b ,  the  act  of  judgment  is  passed  over  in 
silence,  and  the  poet  beholds  God,  the  judgment 
finished,  soaring  above  the  awe-struck  multitudes,  in 
triumphant  return  to  the  repose  of  His  heavenly  throne. 
But  the  slight  emendation  of  the  text,  needed  to  yield 
the  meaning  “Sit  Thou  above  it,”  is  worthy  of  con- 


64 


THE  PSALMS. 


sideration.  In  either  case,  the  picture  closes  with 
the  repeated  assurance  of  the  Divine  judgment  of 
the  peoples,  and  (ver.  8)  the  prayer  begins  again.  The 
emphatic  assertion  of  innocence  must  be  taken  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  slanders  already  repudiated.  The 
matter  in  hand  is  the  evils  charged  on  the  psalmist, 
for  which  he  was  being  chased  as  if  by  lions, 
the  judgment  craved  is  the  chastisement  of  his  per¬ 
secutors,  and  the  innocence  professed  is  simply  the 
innocence  which  they  calumniated.  The  words  have 
no  bearing  at  all  on  the  psalmist’s  general  relation 
to  the  Divine  law,  nor  is  there  any  need  to  have 
recourse  to  the  hypothesis  that  the  speaker  is  the 
“righteous  nation.”  It  is  much  more  difficult  to  vin¬ 
dicate  a  member  of  that  remnant  from  the  charge  of 
overestimating  the  extent  and  quality  of  even  the 
righteous  nation’s  obedience,  if  he  meant  to  allege,  as 
that  interpretation  would  make  him  do,  that  the  nation 
was  pure  in  life  and  heart,  than  it  is  to  vindicate  the 
single  psalmist  vehemently  protesting  his  innocence  of 
the  charges  for  which  he  was  hunted.  Cheyne  con¬ 
fesses  (Commentary  in  loc.')  that  the  “  psalmist’s  view 
may  seem  too  rose-coloured,”  which  is  another  way  of 
acknowledging  that  the  interpretation  of  the  protesta¬ 
tion  as  the  voice  of  the  nation  is  at  variance  with  the 
facts  of  its  condition. 

The  accents  require  ver.  9  a  to  be  rendered  “  Let 
wickedness  make  an  end  of  the  wicked,”  but  that 
introduces  an  irrelevant  thought  of  the  suicidal  nature 
of  evil.  It  may  be  significant  that  the  psalmist’s 
prayer  is  not  for  the  destruction  of  the  wicked,  but 
of  their  wickedness.  Such  annihilation  of  evil  is  the 
great  end  of  God’s  judgment,  and  its  consequence  will 
be  the  establishment  of  the  righteous.  Again  the  prayer 


I, 


vii.]  THE  PSALMS.  65 

strengthens  itself  by  the  thought  of  God  as  righteous 
and  as  trying  the  hearts  and  reins  (the  seat  of  feeling). 
In  the  presence  of  rampant  and  all  but  triumphant 
evil,  a  man  needs  to  feed  hopes  of  its  overthrow 
that  would  else  seem  vainest  dreams,  by  gazing  on  the 
righteousness  and  searching  power  of  God.  Very 
beautifully  does  the  order  of  the  words  in  ver.  9 
suggest  the  kindred  of  the  good  man  with  God  by 
closing  each  division  of  the  verse  with  “  righteous.” 
A  righteous  man  has  a  claim  on  a  righteous  God. 
Most  naturally  then  the  prayer  ends  with  the  calm 
confidence  of  ver.  10:  “My  shield  is  upon  God.”  He 
Himself  bears  the  defence  of  the  psalmist.  This  con¬ 
fidence  he  has  won  by  his  prayer,  and  in  it  he  ceases 
to  be  a  suppliant  and  becomes  a  seer. 

The  last  section  (ver.  1 1  to  end)  is  a  vision  of  the  judg¬ 
ment  prayed  for,  and  may  be  supposed  to  be  addressed 
to  the  enemy.  If  so,  the  hunted  man  towers  above 
them,  and  becomes  a  rebuker.  The  character  of  God 
underlies  the  fact  of  judgment,  as  it  had  encouraged  the 
prayer  for  it.  What  he  had  said  to  himself  when  his 
hope  drooped,  he  now,  as  a  prophet,  peals  out  to  men  as 
making  retribution  sure:  “God  is  a  righteous  Judge, 
yea  a  God  that  hath  indignation  every  day.”  The 
absence  of  an  object  specified  for  the  indignation  makes 
its  inevitable  flow  wherever  there  is  evil  the  more  vividly 
certain.  If  He  is  such,  then  of  course  follows  the 
destruction  of  every  one  who  “turns  not.”  Retribu¬ 
tion  is  set  forth  with  solemn  vigour  under  four  figures. 
First,  God  is  as  an  armed  enemy  sharpening  His  sword 
in  preparation  for  action,  a  work  of  time  which  in  the 
Hebrew  is  represented  as  in  process,  and  bending  His 
bow,  which  is  the  work  of  a  moment,  and  in  the 
Hebrew  is  represented  as  a  completed  act.  Another 


66 


THE  PSALMS. 


second,  and  the  arrow  will  whizz.  Not  only  is  the  bow 
bent,  but  (ver.  u)  the  deadly  arrows  are  aimed,  and 
not  only  aimed,  but  continuously  fed  with  flame.  The 
Hebrew  puts  “At  him  ”  (the  wicked)  emphatically  at  the 
beginning  of  the  verse,  and  uses  the  form  of  the  verb 
which  implies  completed  action  for  the  “  aiming  ”  and 
that  which  implies  incomplete  for  “  making  ”  the  arrows 
burn.  So  the  stern  picture  is  drawn  of  God  as  in 
the  moment  before  the  outburst  of  His  punitive  energy 
— the  sword  sharpened,  the  bow  bent,  the  arrows  fitted, 
the  burling  stuff  being  smeared  on  their  tips.  What 
will  happen  when  all  this  preparation  blazes  into 
action  ? 

The  next  figure  in  ver.  14  insists  on  the  automatic 
action  of  evil  in  bringing  punishment.  It  is  the  Old 
Testament  version  of  “Sin  when  it  is  finished  bringeth 
forth  death.”  The  evil-doer  is  boldly  represented  as 
“  travailing  with  iniquity,”  and  that  metaphor  is  broken 
up  into  the  two  parts  “He  hath  conceived  mischief” 
and  “He  hath  brought  forth  falsehood.”  The  “false¬ 
hood,”  which  is  the  thing  actually  produced,  is  so  called, 
not  because  it  deceives  others,  but  because  it  mocks  its 
producer  with  false  hopes  and  never  fulfils  his  pur¬ 
poses.  This  is  but  the  highly  metaphorical  way  of 
saying  that  a  sinner  never  does  what  he  means  to  do, 
but  that  the  end  of  all  his  plans  is  disappointment. 
The  law  of  the  universe  condemns  him  to  feed  on  ashes 
and  to  make  and  trust  in  lies. 

A  third  figure  brings  out  more  fully  the  idea  implied 
in  “falsehood,”  namely,  the  failure  of  evil  to  accomplish 
its  doer’s  purpose.  Crafty  attempts  to  trap  others 
have  an  ugly  habit  of  snaring  their  contriver.  The 
irony  of  fortune  tumbles  the  hunter  into  the  pitfall 
dug  by  him  for  his  prey.  The  fourth  figure  (ver.  1 6) 


vii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


67 


represents  the  incidence  of  his  evil  on  the  evil-doer  as 
being  certain  as  the  fall  of  a  stone  thrown  straight  up, 
which  will  infallibly  come  back  in  the  line  of  its  ascent. 
Retribution  is  as  sure  as  gravitation,  especially  if  there 
is  an  Unseen  Hand  above,  which  adds  impetus  and 
direction  to  the  falling  weight.  All  these  metaphors, 
dealing  with  the  “  natural  ”  consequences  of  evil,  are 
adduced  as  guarantees  of  God's  judgment,  whence  it 
is  clear  both  that  the  psalmist  is  thinking  not  of  some 
final  future  judgment,  but  of  the  continuous  one  of 
daily  providence,  and  that  he  made  no  sharp  line  of 
demarcation  between  the  supernatural  and  the  natural. 
The  qualities  of  things  and  the  play  of  natural  events 
are  God’s  working. 

So  the  end  of  all  is  thanksgiving.  A  stern  but  not 
selfish  nor  unworthy  thankfulness  follows  judgment, 
with  praise  which  is  not  inconsistent  with  tears  of  pity, 
even  as  the  act  of  judgment  which  calls  it  forth  is 
not  inconsistent  with  Divine  love.  The  vindication  of 
God’s  righteousness  is  worthily  hymned  by  the  choral 
thanksgivings  of  all  who  love  righteousness.  By  judg¬ 
ment  Jehovah  makes  Himself  known  as  “  most  high,” 
supreme  over  all  creatures;  and  hence  the  music  of 
thanksgiving  celebrates  Him  under  that  name.  The 
title  “  Ely  on  ”  here  emploj'ed  is  regarded  by  Cheyne 
and  others  as  a  sign  of  late  date,  but  the  use  of  it  seems 
rather  a  matter  of  poetic  style  than  of  chronology. 
Melchizedek,  Balaam,  and  the  king  of  Babylon  (Isa. 
xiv.  14)  use  it ;  it  occurs  in  Daniel,  but,  with  these 
exceptions,  is  confined  to  poetical  passages,  and  cannot 
be  made  out  to  be  a  mark  of  late  date,  except  by 
assuming  the  point  in  question — namely,  the  late  date 
of  the  poetry,  principally  nineteen  psalms,  in  which  it 


occurs. 


PSALM  VIII. 


1  Jehovah,  our  Lord, 

How  glorious  is  Thy  name  in  all  the  earth ! 

Who  hast  set  Thy  glory  upon  the  heavens. 

2  Out  of  the  mouth  of  children  and  sucklings  hast  Thou  founded  a 

strength, 

Because  of  Thine  adversaries, 

To  still  the  enemy  and  the  revengeful. 

3  When  I  gaze  on  Thy  heavens,  the  work  of  Thy  fingers, 

Moon  and  stars,  which  Thou  hast  established, 

4  What  is  frail  man,  that  Thou  rememberest  him, 

And  the  son  of  man,  that  Thou  visitest  him  ? 

5  For  Thou  didst  let  him  fall  but  little  short  of  God, 

And  crownedst  him  with  glory  and  honour. 

6  Thou  madest  him  ruler  over  the  works  of  Thy  hands; 

Thou  hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet, 

7  Sheep  and  oxen,  all  of  them, 

And  likewise  beasts  of  the  field, 

8  Fowl  of  the  heavens  and  fishes  of  the  sea, 

Whatever  traverses  the  paths  of  the  seas. 

9  Jehovah,  our  Lord,  how  glorious  is  Thy  name  in  all  the  earth  I 


HE  exclamation  which  begins  and  ends  this  psalm, 


J-  enclosing  it  as  a  jewel  in  a  setting,  determines 
its  theme  as  being  neither  the  nightly  heaven,  with  all 
its  stars,  nor  the  dignity  of  man,  but  the  name  of  the 
Lord  as  proclaimed  by  both.  The  Biblical  contem¬ 
plation  of  nature  and  man  starts  from  and  ends  in 
God.  The  main  thought  of  the  psalm  is  the  superiority 
of  the  revelation  in  man’s  nature  and  place  to  that 
in  the  vault  of  heaven.  The  very  smallness  of  man 


68 


viii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


69 


makes  the  revelation  of  God  in  His  dealings  with  him 
great.  In  his  insignificance  is  lodged  a  Divine  spark, 
and,  lowly  as  is  his  head  as  he  stands  beneath  the 
midnight  sky  blazing  with  inaccessible  lights,  it  is 
crowned  with  a  halo  which  reflects  God’s  glory  more 
brightly  than  does  their  lustre.  That  one  idea  is  the 
theme  of  both  parts  of  the  psalm.  In  the  former 
(vv.  I,  2)  it  is  briefly  stated  ;  in  the  latter  (vv.  3-8)  it 
is  wrought  out  in  detail.  The  movement  of  thought  is 
by  expansion  rather  than  progress. 

The  name  of  the  Lord  is  His  character  as  made 
known.  The  psalmist  looks  beyond  Israel,  the  recipient 
of  a  fuller  manifestation,  and,  with  adoring  wonder, 
sees  far-flashing  through  all  the  earth,  as  if  written 
in  light,  the  splendour  of  that  name.  The  universal 
revelation  in  the  depths  of  the  sparkling  heavens  and 
the  special  one  by  which  Israel  can  say,  “our  Lord,” 
are  both  recognised.  The  very  abruptness  of  the  ex¬ 
clamation  in  ver.  1  tells  that  it  is  the  end  of  long,  silent 
contemplation,  which  overflows  at  last  in  speech.  The 
remainder  of  ver.  1  and  ver.  2  present  the  two  forms 
of  Divine  manifestation  which  it  is  the  main  purpose 
of  the  psalm  to  contrast,  and  which  effect  the  world¬ 
wide  diffusion  of  the  glory  of  the  Name.  These  are  the 
apocalypse  in  the  nightly  heavens  and  the  witness 
from  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings.  As  to  the 
former,  there  is  some  difficulty  in  the  text  as  it  stands ; 
and  there  may  be  a  question  also  as  to  the  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  preceding  burst  of  praise.  The  word 
rendered  “  hast  set  ”  is  an  imperative,  which  intro¬ 
duces  an  incongruous  thought,  since  the  psalm  proceeds 
on  the  conviction  that  God  has  already  done  what  such 
a  reading  would  be  asking  Him  to  do.  The  simplest 
solution  is  to  suppose  a  textual  corruption,  and  to 


70 


THE  PSALMS 


make  the  slight  change  required  for  the  rendering  of 
the  A.V.  and  R.V.  God’s  name  is  glorious  in  all  the 
earth,  first,  because  He  has  set  His  glory  upon  the 
heavens,  which  stretch  their  solemn  magnificence  above 
every  land.  It  is  His  glory  of  which  theirs  is  the 
shimmering  reflection,  visible  to  every  eye  upturned 
from  “  this  dim  spot  which  men  call  earth.”  May  we 
attach  significance  to  the  difference  between  “Thy 
name”  and  “Thy  glory”?  Possibly  there  is  a  hint 
of  the  relative  inferiority  even  of  the  heavenly  pro¬ 
clamation,  inasmuch  as,  while  it  rays  out  “glory,”  the 
lustre  of  power  and  infinitude,  it  is  only  on  earth 
that  that  revelation  becomes  the  utterance  of  the  Name, 
since  here  are  hearts  and  minds  to  interpret. 

The  relative  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  clause  of 
ver.  I  seems  to  require  that  the  initial  exclamation 
should  not  be  isolated,  as  it  is  in  the  last  verse ;  but, 
in  any  case,  the  two  methods  of  revelation  must  be 
taken  in  the  closest  connection,  and  brought  into  line 
as  parallel  media  of  revelation. 

Ver.  2  gives  the  second  of  these.  The  sudden  drop 
from  the  glories  of  the  heavens  to  the  babble  and 
prattle  of  infancy  and  childhood  is  most  impressive, 
and  gives  extraordinary  force  to  the  paradox  that  the 
latter’s  witness  is  more  powerful  to  silence  gainsayers 
than  that  of  the  former.  This  conviction  is  expressed  in 
a  noble  metaphor,  which  is  blurred  by  the  rendering 
“strength.”  The  word  here  rather  means  a  strength 
in  the  old  use  of  the  term — that  is,  a  stronghold  or 
fortress — and  the  image,  somewhat  more  daring  than 
colder  Western  taste  finds  permissible,  is  that,  out  of 
such  frail  material  as  children’s  speech,  God  builds 
a  tower  of  strength,  which,  like  some  border  castle, 
will  bridle  and  still  the  restless  enemy.  There  seems 


via.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


71 


no  sufficient  reason  for  taking  “  children  and  sucklings  ” 
in  any  but  its  natural  meaning,  however  the  reference 
to  lowly  believers  may  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the 
psalm.  The  children’s  voices  are  taken  as  a  type  of 
feeble  instruments,  which  are  yet  strong  enough  to 
silence  the  enemy.  Childhood,  “with  no  language 
but  a  cry,”  is,  if  rightly  regarded  in  its  source,  its 
budding  possibilities,  its  dependence,  its  growth,  a 
more  potent  witness  to  a  more  wondrous  name  than 
are  all  the  stars.  In  like  manner,  man  is  man’s  clearest 
revelation  of  God.  The  more  lowly  he  is,  the  more 
lofty  his  testimony.  What  are  all  His  servants’  words 
but  the  babbling  of  children  who  “do  not  know  half 
the  deep  things  they  speak  ”  ?  God’s  strongest  fortress 
is  built  of  weakest  stones.  The  rendering  of  the  LXX., 
which  is  that  used  by  our  Lord  in  the  Temple  when  He 
claimed  the  children’s  shrill  hosannas  as  perfected 
praise,  is  an  explanation  rather  than  a  translation,  and 
as  such  is  quite  in  the  line  of  the  psalmist’s  meaning. 
To  find  in  the  “children  and  sucklings”  a  reference 
either  to  the  humble  believers,  in  Israel  or  to  the 
nation  as  a  whole,  and  in  the  “  enemy  and  the 
vengeful  man  ”  hostile  nations,  introduces  thoughts 
alien  to  the  universality  of  the  psalm,  which  deals  with 
humanity  as  a  whole  and  with  the  great  revelations 
wide  as  humanity.  If  the  two  parts  of  the  psalm  are 
to  be  kept  together,  the  theme  of  the  compendious 
first  portion  must  be  the  same  as  that  of  the  second, 
namely,  the  glory  of  God  as  revealed  by  nature  and 
man,  but  most  chiefly  by  the  latter,  notwithstanding 
and  even  by  his  comparative  feebleness. 

The  second  part  (vv.  3-8)  expands  the  theme  of  the 
first.  The  nightly  sky  is  more  overwhelming  than  the 
bare  blue  vault  of  day.  Light  conceals  and  darkness 


72 


THE  PSALMS. 


unveils  the  solemn  glories.  The  silent  depths,  the 
inaccessible  splendours,  spoke  to  this  psalmist,  as  they 
do  to  all  sensitive  souls,  of  man’s  relative  insignificance, 
but  they  spoke  also  of  the  God  whose  hand  had 
fashioned  them,  and  the  thought  of  Him  carried  with 
it  the  assurance  of  His  care  for  so  small  a  creature, 
and  therefore  changed  the  aspect  of  his  insignificance. 
To  an  ear  deaf  to  the  witness  of  the  heavens  to  their 
Maker,  the  only  voice  which  sounds  from  their  crush¬ 
ing  magnificence  is  one  which  counsels  unmitigated 
despair,  insists  on  man’s  nothingness,  and  mocks  his 
aspirations.  If  we  stop  with  “  What  is  man  ?  ”  the 
answer  is,  A  fleeting  nothing.  The  magnitude,  the 
duration,  the  multitudes  of  these  awful  suns  and  stars 
dwarf  him.  Modern  astronomy  has  so  far  increased 
the  impression  that  it  has  landed  many  minds  in  blank 
unbelief  that  God  has  visited  so  small  a  speck  as  earth, 
and  abundant  ridicule  has  been  poured  on  the  arrogance 
which  dreams  that  such  stupendous  events,  as  the 
Christian  revelation  asserts,  have  been  transacted  on 
earth  for  man.  If  we  begin  with  man,  certainly  his 
insignificance  makes  it  supremely  absurd  to  suppose 
him  thus  distinguished ;  but  if  we  begin  at  the  other 
end,  the  supposition  takes  a  new  appearance  of  pro¬ 
bability.  If  there  is  a  God,  and  men  are  His  creatures, 
it  is  supremely  unlikely  that  He  should  not  have  a 
care  of  them.  Nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than  the 
supposition  of  a  dumb  God,  who  has  never  spoken  to 
such  a  being  as  man.  The  psalmist  gives  full  weight 
to  man’s  smallness,  his  frailty,  and  his  lowly  origin,  for 
his  exclamation,  u  What  is  man  ?  ”  means,  “  How  little 
is  he  1  ”  and  he  uses  the  words  which  connote  frailty 
and  mortality,  and  emphasise  the  fact  of  birth  as  if 
in  contrast  with  “  the  work  of  Thy  fingers  ” ;  but  all 


THE  PSALMS. 


73 


these  points  only  enhance  the  wonderfulness  of  what 
is  to  the  poet  an  axiom — that  God  has  personal  relations 
with  His  creature.  “Thou  art  mindful  of  him”  refers 
to  God’s  thought,  “  Thou  visitest  him  ”  to  His  acts 
of  loving  care ;  and  both  point  to  God’s  universal 
beneficence,  not  to  His  special  revelation.  The  bitter 
parody  in  Job  vii.  17,  18,  takes  the  truth  by  the  other 
handle,  and  makes  the  personal  relations  those  of 
a  rigid  inspector  on  the  one  hand  and  a  creature 
not  worth  being  so  strict  with  on  the  other.  Mind¬ 
fulness  is  only  watchfulness  for  slips,  and  visiting 
means  penal  visitation.  So  the  same  fact  may  be  the 
source  of  thankful  wonder  or  of  almost  blasphemous 
murmuring. 

Vv.  5-8  draw  out  the  consequences  of  God’s  loving 
regard,  which  has  made  the  insignificance  of  man  the 
medium  of  a  nobler  manifestation  of  the  Divine  name 
than  streams  from  all  the  stars.  There  is  no  allusion 
here  to  sin ;  and  its  absence  has  led  to  the  assertion 
that  this  psalmist  knew  nothing  of  a  fall,  and  was  not  in 
harmony  with  the  prevalent  Old  Testament  tone  as  to 
the  condition  of  humanity.  But  surely  the  contempla¬ 
tion  of  the  ideal  manhood,  as  it  came  from  God’s  hand, 
does  not  need  to  be  darkened  by  the  shadows  of  the 
actual.  The  picture  of  man  as  God  made  him  is  the 
only  theme  which  concerns  the  psalmist ;  and  he  paints 
it  with  colours  drawn  from  the  Genesis  account,  which 
tells  of  the  fall  as  well  as  the  creation  of  man. 

The  picture  contains  three  elements  :  man  is  Deiform, 
crowned  with  glory  and  honour,  and  lord  of  the 
creatures  on  earth.  The  rendering  “  than  the  angels  ” 
in  the  A.V.  comes  from  the  LXX.,  but  though  defensible, 
is  less  probable  than  the  more  lofty  conception  contained 
in  “  than  God,”  which  is  vindicated,  not  only  by  lexical 


I 


) 


THE  PSALMS. 


considerations,  but  as  embodying  an  allusion  to  the 
original  creation  “in  the  image  of  God.”  What  then 
is  the  “little”  which  marks  man’s  inferiority?  It  is 
mainly  that  the  spirit,  which  is  God’s  image,  is  confined 
in  and  limited  by  flesh,  and  subject  to  death.  The 
distance  from  the  apex  of  creation  to  the  Creator  must 
ever  be  infinite;  but  man  is  so  far  above  the  non-sentient, 
though  mighty,  stars  and  the  creatures  which  share 
earth  with  him,  by  reason  of  his  being  made  in  the 
Divine  image — i.e.f  having  consciousness,  will,  and 
reason — that  the  distance  is  foreshortened.  The  gulf 
between  man  and  matter  is  greater  than  that  between 
man  and  God.  The  moral  separation  caused  by  sin 
is  not  in  the  psalmist’s  mind.  Thus  man  is  invested 
with  some  reflection  of  God’s  glory,  and  wears  this 
as  a  crown.  He  is  king  on  earth. 

The  enumeration  of  his  subjects  follows,  in  language 
reminding  again  of  the  Genesis  narrative.  The  catalogue 
begins  with  those  nearest  to  him,  the  long-tamed 
domestic  animals,  and  of  these  the  most  submissive 
(sheep)  first ;  it  then  passes  to  the  untamed  animals, 
whose  home  is  “  the  field  ”  or  uncultivated  land,  and 
from  them  goes  to  the  heights  and  depths,  where  the 
free  fowls  of  the  air  and  fish  of  the  sea  and  all 
the  mysterious  monsters  that  may  roam  the  hidden 
ways  of  that  unknown  ocean  dwell.  The  power  of 
taming  and  disciplining  some,  the  right  to  use  all, 
belong  to  man,  but  his  subjects  have  their  rights  and 
their  king  his  limits  of  power  and  his  duties. 

Such  then  is  man,  as  God  meant  him  to  be.  Such 
a  being  is  a  more  glorious  revelation  of  the  Name  than 
all  stars  and  systems.  Looked  at  in  regard  to  his 
duration,  his  years  are  a  handbreadth  before  these 
shining  ancients  of  days  that  have  seen  his  generations 


THE  PSALMS. 


75 


•  •  •  •% 
Vlll.J 


fret  their  little  hour  and  sink  into  silence ;  looked  at 
in  contrast  with  their  magnitude  and  numbers  number¬ 
less,  he  is  but  an  atom,  and  his  dwelling-place  a  speck. 
Science  increases  the  knowledge  of  his  insignificance, 
but  perhaps  not  the  impression  of  it  made  on  a  quiet 
heart  by  the  simple  sight  of  the  heavens.  But  besides 
the  merely  scientific  view,  and  the  merely  poetic,  and 
the  grimly  Agnostic,  there  is  the  other,  the  religious, 
and  it  is  as  valid  to-day  as  ever.  To  it  the  heavens 
are  the  work  of  God’s  finger,  and  their  glories  are  His, 
set  there  by  Him.  That  being  so,  man’s  littleness 
magnifies  the  name,  because  it  enhances  the  con¬ 
descending  love  of  God,  which  has  greatened  the  little¬ 
ness  by  such  nearness  of  care  and  such  gifts  of  dignity. 
The  reflection  of  His  glory  which  blazes  in  the 
heavens  is  less  bright  than  that  which  gleams  in  the 
crown  of  glory  and  honour  on  man’s  lowly  yet  lofty 
head.  The  “  babe  and  suckling  ”  of  creation  has  a 
mouth  from  which  the  strength  of  perfected  praise 
issues  and  makes  a  bulwark  against  all  gainsayers. 

The  use  made  of  this  psalm  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  proceeds  on  the  understanding  that  it  describes 
ideal  humanity.  Where,  then,  says  the  writer  of  the 
epistle,  shall  we  look  for  the  realisation  of  that  ideal  ? 
Do  not  the  grand  words  sound  liker  irony  than  truth  ? 
Is  this  poor  creature  that  crawls  about  the  world,  its 
slave,  discrowned  and  sure  to  die,  the  Man  whom  the 
psalmist  saw  ?  No.  Then  was  the  fair  vision  a  base¬ 
less  fabric,  and  is  there  nothing  to  be  looked  for  but 
a  dreary  continuance  of  such  abortions  dragging  out 
their  futile  being  through  hopeless  generations ?  No; 
the  promise  shall  be  fulfilled  for  humanity,  because  it 
has  been  fulfilled  in  one  Man  :  the  Man  Christ  Jesus. 
He  is  the  realised  ideal,  and  in  Him  is  a  life  which 


76 


THE  PSALMS. 


will  be  communicated  to  all  who  trust  and  obey  Him, 
and  they,  too,  will  become  all  that  God  meant  man  to 
be.  The  psalm  was  not  intended  as  a  prophecy,  but 
every  clear  vision  of  God’s  purpose  is  a  prophecy,  for 
none  of  His  purposes  remain  unfulfilled.  It  was  not 
intended  as  a  picture  of  the  Christ,  but  it  is  so ;  for  He, 
and  He  alone,  is  the  Man  who  answers  to  that  fair 
Divine  Ideal,  and  He  will  make  all  His  people  partakers 
of  His  royalty  and  perfect  manhood. 

So  the  psalm  ends,  as  it  began,  with  adoring  wonder, 
and  proclaims  this  as  the  result  of  the  twofold  witness 
which  it  has  so  nobly  set  forth  :  that  God’s  name  shines 
glorious  through  all  the  earth,  and  every  eye  may  see 
its  lustre. 


1 


PSALM  IX. 


1  (X)  I  will  thank  Jehovah  with  my  whole  heart; 

I  will  recount  all  Thy  wonders. 

2  I  will  be  glad  and  exult  in  Thee ; 

I  will  sing  Thy  name,  Most  High, 

3  (1)  Because  mine  enemies  turn  back  ; 

They  stumble  and  perish  at  Thy  presence. 

4  For  Thou  hast  upheld  my  right  and  my  suit ; 

Thou  didst  seat  Thyself  on  Thy  throne,  judging  righteously. 

5  (3)  Thou  hast  rebuked  the  nations,  Thou  hast  destroyed  the 

wicked  ; 

Thou  hast  blotted  out  their  name  for  ever  and  aye. 

6  The  enemy — they  are  ended,  [they  are]  desolations  for  ever, 

And  [their]  cities  hast  Thou  rooted  out;  perished  is  their  memory. 

7  (H)  They  [are  perished],  but  Jehovah  shall  sit  throned  for  ever ; 
He  hath  prepared  His  throne  for  judgment. 

8  And  He — He  shall  judge  the  world  in  righteousness; 

He  shall  deal  judgment  to  the  peoples  in  equity. 

9  (1)  And  Jehovah  shall  be  a  lofty  stronghold  for  the  crushed, 

A  lofty  stronghold  in  times  of  extremity. 

10  And  they  who  know  Thy  name  will  put  trust  in  Thee, 

For  Thou  hast  not  forsaken  them  that  seek  Thee,  Jehovah. 

1 1  (t)  Sing  with  the  harp  to  Jehovah,  sitting  throned  in  Zion ; 
Declare  among  the  peoples  His  doings. 

12  For  He  that  makes  inquisition  for  blood  has  remembered  them  ; 
He  has  not  forgotten  the  cry  of  the  humble. 

13  (fl)  Have  mercy  on  me,  Jehovah; 

Look  on  my  affliction  from  my  haters, 

Thou  who  liftest  me  up  from  the  gates  of  death 

14  To  the  end  that  I  may  recount  all  Thy  praises. 

In  the  gates  of  the  daughter  of  Zion, 

I  will  rejoice  in  Thy  salvation. 

77 


78 


THE  PSALMS. 


15  (tO)  The  nations  are  sunk  in  the  pit  they  made ; 

In  the  net  which  they  spread  their  foot  is  caught. 

16  Jehovah  makes  Himself  known;  judgment  hath  He  done, 
Snaring  the  wicked  by  the  work  of  his  own  hands.  Higgaion  ; 

Selah. 

17  (')  The  wicked  shall  return  to  Sheol, 

All  the  nations  who  forget  God. 

18  For  not  for  ever  shall  the  needy  be  forgotten, 

Nor  the  expectation  of  the  afflicted  perish  for  aye. 

19  (p)  Arise,  Jehovah  :  let  not  man  grow  strong; 

Let  the  nations  be  judged  before  Thy  presence. 

20  Appoint,  Jehovah,  terrors  for  them; 

Let  the  nations  come  to  know  that  they  are  men. 


SALMS  vii.  and  ix.  are  connected  by  the  recur- 


J.  rence  of  the  two  thoughts  of  God  as  the  Judge 
of  nations  and  the  wicked  falling  into  the  pit  which 
he  digged.  Probably  the  original  arrangement  of  the 
Psalter  put  these  two  next  each  other,  and  Psalm  viii. 
was  inserted  later. 

Psalm  ix.  is  imperfectly  acrostic.  It  falls  into  strains 
of  two  verses  each,  which  are  marked  by  sequence  of 
thought  as  well  as  by  the  acrostic  arrangement.  The 
first  begins  with  Aleph,  the  second  with  Beth,  and 
so  on,  the  second  verse  of  each  pair  not  being  counted 
in  the  scheme.  The  fourth  letter  is  missing,  and 
ver.  7,  which  should  begin  with  it,  begins  with  the 
sixth.  But  a  textual  correction,  which  is  desirable 
on  other  grounds,  makes  the  fifth  letter  (He)  the  initial 
of  ver.  7,  and  then  the  regular  sequence  is  kept  up 
till  ver.  19,  which  should  begin  with  the  soft  K,  but 
takes  instead  the  guttural  0.  What  has  become  of 
the  rest  of  the  alphabet  ?  Part  of  it  is  found  in  Psalm 
x.,  where  the  first  verse  begins  with  the  L,  which  should 
follow  the  regular  K  for  ver.  19.  But  there  is  no  more 
trace  of  acrostic  structure  in  x.  till  ver.  12,  which  resumes 


THE  PSALMS. 


79 


ix.] 

it  with  the  Q  which  has  already  appeared  out  of  place  in 
ix.  19;  and  it  goes  on  to  the  end  of  the  alphabet,  with 
only  the  irregularity  that  the  R  strain  (x.  14)  has  but 
one  verse.  Verses  with  the  missing  letters  would  just 
about  occupy  the  space  of  the  non-acrostic  verses  in 
Psalm  x.,  and  the  suggestion  is  obvious  that  the  latter 
are  part  of  some  other  psalm  which  has  been  substituted 
for  the  original ;  but  there  are  links  of  connection  be¬ 
tween  the  non-acrostic  and  acrostic  portions  of  Psalm  x., 
which  make  that  hypothesis  difficult.  The  resem¬ 
blances  between  the  two  psalms  as  they  stand  are 
close,  and  the  dissimilarities  not  less  obvious.  The 
psalmist’s  enemies  are  different.  In  the  former  they 
are  foreign,  in  the  latter  domestic.  Psalm  ix.  rings 
with  triumph  ;  Psalm  x.  is  in  a  minor  key.  The  former 
celebrates  a  judgment  as  accomplished  which  the  latter 
almost  despairingly  longs  to  see  begun.  On  the  whole, 
the  two  were  most  probably  never  formally  one,  but 
are  a  closely  connected  pair. 

There  is  nothing  to  discredit  the  Davidic  authorship. 
The  singer’s  enemies  are  “  nations,”  and  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  these  foreign  foes  is  equivalent  to  “  maintaining 
his  cause.”  That  would  be  language  natural  in  the 
mouth  of  a  king,  and  there  were  foreign  wars  enough 
in  David’s  reign  to  supply  appropriate  occasions  for 
such  a  song.  The  psalm  falls  into  two  parts,  vv.  1-12 
and  1 3  to  end,  of  which  the  second  substantially  repeats 
the  main  thoughts  of  the  first,  but  with  a  significant 
difference.  In  the  first  part  the  sequence  is  praise  and 
its  occasion  (Aleph  and  Beth  verses,  1-4),  triumphant 
recounting  of  accomplished  judgment  (Gimel  verses, 
5,  6),  confident  expectation  of  future  wider  judgment 
(amended  He  and  Vav  pairs,  vv.  7-10),  and  a  final  call 
to  praise  (vii.  12).  Thus  set,  as  it  were,  in  a  circlet 


8o 


THE  PSALMS. 


of  praise,  are  experience  of  past  and  consequent  con¬ 
fidence  of  future  deliverance.  The  second  part  gives 
the  same  order,  only,  instead  of  praise,  it  has  prayer 
for  its  beginning  and  end,  the  two  central  portions 
remaining  the  same  as  in  part  I.  The  Cheth  pair 
(vv.  13,  14)  is  prayer,  the  deliverance  not  being 
perfected,  though  some  foes  have  fallen  ;  the  past  act 
of  accomplished  judgment  is  again  celebrated  in  the  Teth 
pair  (vv.  15,  16),  followed,  as  before,  by  the  triumphant 
confidence  of  future  complete  crushing  of  enemies 
(Yod  strain,  vv.  17,  18);  and  all  closes  with  prayer 
(Qoph  pair,  vv.  19,  20).  Thus  the  same  thoughts 
are  twice  dwelt  on ;  and  the  different  use  made  of  them 
is  the  explanation  of  the  repetition,  which  strikes  a 
cursory  reader  as  needless.  The  diamond  is  turned 
a  little  in  the  hand,  and  a  differently  tinted  beam  flashes 
from  its  facet. 

In  the  first  pair  of  verses,  the  song  rushes  out  like 
some  river  breaking  through  a  dam  and  flashing  as  it 
hurries  on  its  course.  Each  short  clause  begins  with 
Aleph  ;  each  makes  the  same  fervid  resolve.  Whole¬ 
hearted  praise  is  sincere,  and  all  the  singer’s  being  is 
fused  into  it.  “All  Thy  marvellous  works”  include 
the  great  deliverances  of  the  past,  with  which  a  living 
sense  of  God’s  working  associates  those  of  the  present, 
as  one  in  character  and  source.  To-day  is  as  full  of 
God  to  this  man  as  the  sacred  yesterdays  of  national 
history,  and  his  deliverances  as  wonderful  as  those  of 
old.  But  high  above  the  joy  in  God’s  work  is  the  joy 
in  Himself  to  which  it  leads,  and  “Thy  name,  O  thou 
Most  High,”  is  the  ground  of  all  pure  delight  and  the 
theme  of  all  worthy  praise. 

The  second  stanza  (Beth,  w.  3,  4)  is  best  taken  as 
giving  the  ground  of  praise.  Render  in  close  con- 


ix.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


81 


nection  with  preceding  “  because  mine  enemies  turn 
back ;  they  stumble  and  perish  at  [or  from]  Thy  pre¬ 
sence/’  God’s  face  blazes  out  on  the  foe,  and  they 
turn  and  flee  from  the  field,  but  in  their  flight  they 
stumble,  and,  like  fugitives,  once  fallen  can  rise  no 
more.  The  underlying  picture  is  of  a  battle-field  and 
a  disastrous  rout.  It  is  God’s  coming  into  action  that 
scatters  the  enemy,  as  ver.  4  tells  by  its  “  for.”  When 
He  took  His  seat  on  the  throne  (of  judgment  rather 
than  of  royalty),  they  fled  ;  and  that  act  of  assuming 
judicial  activity  was  the  maintaining  of  the  psalmist’s 
cause. 

The  third  pair  of  verses  (Gimel,  5,  6)  dwells  on  the 
grand  picture  of  judgment,  and  specifies  for  the  first 
time  the  enemies  as  “  the  nations  ”  or  “  heathen,”  thus 
showing  that  the  psalmist  is  not  a  private  individual, 
and  probably  implying  that  the  whole  psalm  is  a  hymn 
of  victory,  in  which  the  heat  of  battle  still  glows,  but 
which  writes  no  name  on  the  trophy  but  that  of  God. 
The  metaphor  of  a  judgment-seat  is  exchanged  for  a 
triumphant  description  of  the  destructions  fallen  on  the 
land  of  the  enemy,  in  all  which  God  alone  is  recognised 
as  the  actor.  “  Thou  hast  rebuked  ”  ;  and  just  as  His 
creative  word  was  all-powerful,  so  His  destructive  word 
sweeps  its  objects  into  nothingness.  There  is  a  grand 
and  solemn  sequence  in  that  “  Thou  hast  rebuked ;  .  .  . 
Thou  hast  destroyed.”  His  breath  has  made ;  His 
breath  can  unmake.  In  ver.  6  the  rendering  to  be  pre¬ 
ferred  is  substantially  that  of  the  R.V.  :  “The  enemy 
are  ended,  [they  are]  ruins  for  ever,  and  cities  hast 
Thou  rooted  out ;  perished  is  their  memory.”  To  take 
“  enemy  ”  as  a  vocative  breaks  the  continuity  of  the 
address  to  God,  and  brings  in  an  irrelevant  reference  to 
the  former  conquests  of  the  foe  (“Thou  hast  destroyed 

6 


$2 


THE  PSALMS. 


cities”)  which  is  much  more  forcible  if  regarded  as 
descriptive  of  God’s  destruction  of  his  cities.  “  Their 
memory”  refers  to  the  enemy,  not  to  the  cities.  Utter, 
perpetual  ruin,  so  complete  that  the  very  name  is  for¬ 
gotten,  has  fallen  on  the  foe. 

In  the  fourth  pair  of  verses  a  slight  emendation  of 
the  text  is  approved  of  by  most  critics.  The  last  word 
of  ver.  6  is  the  pronoun  “  they,”  which,  though 
possible  in  such  a  position,  is  awkward.  If  it  is  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  beginning  of  ver.  7,  and  it  is  further  sup¬ 
posed  that  “are  perished”  has  dropped  out,  as  might 
easily  be  the  case,  from  the  verb  having  just  occurred 
in  the  singular,  a  striking  antithesis  is  gained  :  “They 
perish,  but  Jehovah  shall  sit,”  etc.  Further,  the  pair  of 
verses  then  begins  with  the  fifth  letter ;  and  the  only 
irregularity  in  the  acrostic  arrangement  till  ver.  19 
is  the  omission  of  the  fourth  letter :  Daleth.  A  very 
significant  change  in  tenses  takes  place  at  this  point. 
Hitherto  the  verbs  have  been  perfects,  implying  a 
finished  act ;  that  is  to  say,  hitherto  the  psalm  has 
been  dealing  with  facts  of  recent  but  completed  experi¬ 
ence.  Now  the  verbs  change  to  imperfects  or  futures, 
and  continue  so  till  ver.  12;  that  is  to  say,  “experi¬ 
ence  doth  attain  to  something  of  prophetic  strain,” 
and  passes  into  confidence  for  the  future.  That  con¬ 
fidence  is  cast  in  the  mould  supplied  by  the  deliverance 
on  which  it  is  founded.  The  smaller  act  of  judgment, 
which  maintained  the  psalmist’s  cause,  expands  into  a 
world-wide  judgment  in  righteousness,  for  which  the 
preparations  are  already  made.  “  He  hath  prepared  His 
throne  for  judgment  ”  is  the  only  perfect  in  the  series. 
This  is  the  true  point  of  view  from  which  to  regard 
the  less  comprehensive  acts  of  judgment  thinly  sown 
through  history,  when  God  has  arisen  to  smite  some 


IX.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


S3 

hoary  iniquity  or  some  godless  conqueror.  Such  acts 
are  premonitions  of  the  future,  and  every  “  day  of 
the  Lord  ”  is  a  miniature  of  that  final  dies  irce.  The 
psalmist  probably  was  rather  thinking  of  other  acts  of 
judgment  which  would  free  him  and  his  people  from 
hostile  nations,  but  his  hope  was  built  on  the  great  truth 
that  all  such  acts  are  prophecies  of  others  like  them, 
and  it  is  a  legitimate  extension  of  the  same  principle 
to  view  them  all  in  relation  to  the  last  and  greatest  of 
the  series. 

The  fifth  pair  (Vav  stanza,  vv.  9,  10)  turns  to  the 
glad  contemplation  of  the  purpose  of  all  the  pomp 
and  terror  of  the  judgment  thus  hoped  for.  The 
Judge  is  seated  on  high,  and  His  elevation  makes  a 
“  lofty  stronghold  ”  for  the  crushed  or  downtrodden. 

The  rare  word  rendered  “  extremity  ”  in  ver.  9  occurs 
only  here  and  in  x.  1.  It  means  a  cutting  off,  i.e.f  of 
hope  of  deliverance.  The  notion  of  distress  intensified 
to  despair  is  conveyed.  God’s  judgments  show  that 
even  in  such  extremity  He  is  an  inexpugnable  defence, 
like  some  hill  fortress,  inaccessible  to  any  foe.  A 
further  result  of  judgment  is  the  (growing)  trust  of 
devout  souls  (ver.  10).  To  “know  Thy  name”  is  here 
equivalent  to  learning  God’s  character  as  made  known 
by  His  acts,  especially  by  the  judgments  anticipated. 
For  such  knowledge  some  measure  of  devout  trust 
is  required,  but  further  knowledge  deepens  trust. 
The  best  teacher  of  faith  is  experience ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  condition  of  such  experience  is  faith. 
The  action  of  knowledge  and  of  trust  is  reciprocal. 
That  trust  is  reinforced  by  the  renewed  evidence, 
afforded  by  the  judgments,  that  Jehovah  does  not 
desert  them  that  seek  Him.  To  “seek  Him”  is  to 
long  for  Him,  to  look  for  His  help  in  trouble,  to  turn 


I 


84  THE  PSALMS. 

with  desire  and  obedience  to  Him  in  daily  life ;  and 
anything  is  possible  rather  than  that  He  should  not 
disclose  and  give  Himself  to  such  search.  Trust  and 
seeking,  fruition  and  desire,  the  repose  of  the  soul  on 
God  and  its  longing  after  God,  are  inseparable.  They 
are  but  varying  aspects  of  the  one  thing.  When  a 
finite  spirit  cleaves  to  the  infinite  God,  there  must  be 
longing  as  an  element  in  all  possession  and  possession 
as  an  element  in  all  longing ;  and  both  will  be  fed  by 
contemplation  of  the  self-revealing  acts  which  are  the 
syllables  of  His  name. 

Section  6,  the  last  of  the  first  part(Zayin,  vv.  II,  12), 
circles  round  to  section  I,  and  calls  on  all  trusters 
and  seekers  to  be  a  chorus  to  the  solo  of  praise 
therein.  The  ground  of  the  praise  is  the  same  past 
act  which  has  been  already  set  forth  as  that  of  the 
psalmist’s  thanksgiving,  as  is  shown  by  the  recurrence 
here  of  perfect  tenses  ( hath  remembered ;  hath  not 
forgotten).  The  designation  of  God  as  “ dwelling”  in 
Zion  is  perhaps  better  rendered,  with  allusion  to  the 
same  word  in  ver.  7,  “sitteth.”  His  seat  had  been 
there  from  the  time  that  the  Ark  was  brought  thither. 
That  earthly  throne  was  the  type  of  His  heavenly  seat, 
and  from  Zion  He  is  conceived  as  executing  judgment. 
The  world-wide  destination  of  Israel’s  knowledge  of 
God  inspires  the  call  to  “show  forth  His  doings”  to 
“the  peoples.”  The  “nations”  are  not  merely  the 
objects  of  destructive  wrath,  but  are  to  be  summoned 
to  share  in  the  blessing  of  knowing  His  mighty  acts. 
The  psalmist  may  not  have  been  able  to  harmonise 
these  two  points  of  view  as  to  Israel’s  relation  to  the 
Gentile  world,  but  both  thoughts  vibrate  in  his  song. 
The  designation  of  God  as  “  making  inquisition  for 
blood”  thinks  of  Him  as  the  Goel,  or  Avenger.  To 


THE  PSALMS. 


*5 


seek  means  here  to  demand  back  as  one  who  had 
entrusted  property  to  another  who  had  destroyed  it 
would  do,  thence  to  demand  compensation  or  satisfac¬ 
tion,  and  thus  finally  comes  to  mean  to  avenge  or 
punish  (so  Hupfeld,  Delitzsch,  etc.).  “The  poor”  or 
“  meek  ”  (R.V.  and  margin)  whose  cry  is  heard  are  the 
devout  portion  of  the  Jewish  people,  who  are  often 
spoken  of  in  the  Psalms  and  elsewhere  as  a  class. 

The  second  part  of  the  psalm  begins  with  ver.  13. 
The  prayer  in  that  verse  is  the  only  trace  of  trouble  in 
the  psalm.  The  rest  is  triumph  and  exultation.  This, 
at  first  sight  discordant,  note  has  sorely  exercised  com¬ 
mentators  ;  and  the  violent  solution  that  the  whole 
Cheth  stanza  (vv.  13,  14)  should  be  regarded  as  “the 
cry  of  the  meek,”  quoted  by  the  psalmist,  and  there¬ 
fore  be  put  in  inverted  commas  (though  adopted  by 
Delitzsch  and  Cheyne),  is  artificial  and  cold.  If  the 
view  of  the  structure  of  the  psalm  given  above  is 
adopted,  there  is  little  difficulty  in  the  connection. 
The  victory  has  been  completed  over  certain  enemies, 
but  there  remain  others ;  and  the  time  for  praise 
unmingled  with  petition  has  not  yet  come  for  the 
psalmist,  as  it  never  comes  for  any  of  us  in  this  life. 
Quatre  Bras  is  won,  but  Waterloo  has  to  be  fought 
to-morrow.  The  prayer  takes  account  of  the  dangers 
still  threatening,  but  it  only  glances  at  these,  and  then 
once  more  turns  to  look  with  hope  on  the  accomplished 
deliverance.  The  thought  of  how  God  had  lifted  the 
suppliant  up  from  the  very  gates  of  death  heartens  him 
to  pray  for  all  further  mercy  needed.  Death  is  the  lord  of 
a  gloomy  prison-house,  the  gates  of  which  open  inwards 
only  and  permit  no  egress.  On  its  very  threshold  the 
psalmist  had  stood.  But  God  had  lifted  him  thence, 
and  the  remembrance  wings  his  prayer.  “The  gates 


86 


THE  PSALMS. 


of  the  daughter  of  Zion  ”  are  in  sharp,  happy  contrast 
with  the  frowning  portals  of  death.  A  city’s  gates 
are  the  place  of  cheery  life,  stir,  gossip,  business. 
Anything  proclaimed  there  flies  far.  There  the  psalmist 
resolves  that  he  will  tell  his  story  of  rescue,  which  he 
believes  was  granted  that  it  might  be  told.  God’s 
purpose  in  blessing  men  is  that  they  may  open  their 
lips  to  proclaim  the  blessings  and  so  bring  others  to 
share  in  them.  God’s  end  is  the  spread  of  His  name,  not 
for  any  good  to  Him,  but  because  to  know  it  is  life  to  us. 

The  Teth  pair  (vv.  15,  16)  repeats  the  thoughts  of 
the  Gimel  stanza  (5,  6),  recurring  to  the  same  significant 
perfects  and  dwelling  on  the  new  thought  that  the 
destruction  of  the  enemy  was  self-caused.  As  in  Psalm 
vii.,  the  familiar  figure  of  the  pitfall  catching  the  hunter 
expresses  the  truth  that  all  evil,  and  especially  malice, 
recoils  on  its  contriver.  A  companion  illustration  is 
added  of  the  fowler’s  (or  hunter’s)  foot  being  caught 
in  his  own  snare.  Ver.  16  presents  the  other  view  of 
retribution,  which  was  the  only  one  in  vv.  5,  6,  namely 
that  it  is  a  Divine  act.  It  is  God  who  executes  judg¬ 
ment,  and  who  “snareth  the  wicked,”  though  it  be 
“  the  work  of  his  own  hands  ”  which  weaves  the  snare. 
Both  views  are  needed  for  the  complete  truth.  This 
close  of  the  retrospect  of  deliverance  which  is  the  main 
motive  of  the  psalm  is  appropriately  marked  by  the 
musical  direction  u  Higgaion.  Selah,”  which  calls  for 
a  strain  of  instrumental  music  to  fill  the  pause  of  the 
song  and  to  mark  the  rapture  of  triumph  in  accom¬ 
plished  deliverance. 

The  Yod  stanza  (vv.  17,  18),  like  the  He  and  Vav 
stanzas  (vv.  7-10),  passes  to  confidence  for  the  future. 
The  correspondence  is  very  close,  but  the  two  verses 
ol  this  stanza  represent  the  four  of  the  earlier  ones  ; 


THE  PSALMS. 


87 


ix.] 

thus  ver.  17  answers  to  vv.  7  and  8,  while  ver.  18  is 
the  representative  of  vv.  9  and  10.  In  ver.  17  the 
“  return  to  Sheol  ”  is  equivalent  to  destruction.  In 
one  view,  men  who  cease  to  be  may  be  regarded  as 
going  back  to  original  nothingness,  as  in  Psalm  xc.  3. 
Sheol  is  not  here  a  place  of  punishment,  but  is 
the  dreary  dwelling  of  the  dead,  from  the  gates  of 
which  the  psalmist  had  been  brought  up.  Reduction 
to  nothingness  and  yet  a  shadowy,  dim  life  or  death- 
in-life  will  certainly  be  the  end  of  the  wicked.  The 
psalmist’s  experience  in  his  past  deliverance  entitles 
him  to  generalise  thus.  To  forget  God  is  the  sure 
way  to  be  forgotten.  The  reason  for  the  certain 
destruction  of  the  nations  who  forget  God  and  for  the 
psalmist’s  assurance  of  it  is  (ver.  18)  the  confidence 
he  has  that  “  the  needy  shall  not  always  be  forgotten.” 
That  confidence  corresponds  precisely  to  vv.  9,  10, 
and  also  looks  back  to  the  “  hath  remembered  ”  and 
“not  forgotten”  of  ver.  12.  They  who  remember  God 
are  remembered  by  Him  ;  and  their  being  remembered 
— i.e.}  by  deliverance — necessitates  the  wicked’s  being 
forgotten,  and  those  who  are  forgotten  by  God  perish. 
The  second  clause  of  ver.  18  echoes  the  other  solemn 
word  of  doom  from  vv.  3-6.  There  the  fate  of  the 
evil-doers  was  set  forth  as  “  perishing  ” ;  their  very 
memory  was  to  “  perish.”  But  the  “expectation  of  the 
poor  shall  not  perish.”  Apparently  fragile  and  to  the 
eye  of  sense  unsubstantial  as  a  soap-bubble,  the  devout 
man’s  hope  is  more  solid  than  the  most  solid-seeming 
realities,  and  will  outlast  them  all. 

The  final  stanza  (vv.  19,  20)  does  not  take  Kaph 
as  it  should  do,  but  Qoph.  Hence  some  critics  suspect 
that  this  pair  of  verses  has  been  added  by  another 
hand,  but  the  continuity  of  sense  is  plain,  and  is  against 


88 


THE  PSALMS. 


this  supposition.  The  psalmist  was  not  so  bound  to 
his  form  but  that  he  could  vary  it,  as  here.  The  prayer 
of  this  concluding  stanza  circles  round  to  the  prayer 
in  ver.  13,  as  has  been  noticed,  and  so  completes  the 
whole  psalm  symmetrically.  The  personal  element  in 
ver.  1 3  has  passed  away ;  and  the  prayer  is  general, 
just  as  the  solo  of  praise  in  ver.  I  broadened  into  the 
call  for  a  chorus  of  voices  in  ver.  12.  The  scope  of 
the  prayer  is  the  very  judgment  which  the  previous 
stanza  has  contemplated  as  certain.  The  devout  man’s 
desires  are  moulded  on  God’s  promises,  and  his  prayers 
echo  these.  “  Let  not  mortal  man  grow  strong,”  or 
rather  “  vaunt  his  strength.”  The  word  for  man  here 
connotes  weakness.  How  ridiculous  for  him,  being 
such  as  he  is,  to  swell  and  swagger  as  if  strong,  and 
how  certain  his  boasted  strength  is  to  shrivel  like  a 
leaf  in  the  fire,  if  God  should  come  forth,  roused  to 
action  by  his  boasting !  Ver.  20  closes  the  prayer 
with  the  cry  that  some  awe-inspiring  act  of  Divine 
justice  may  be  flashed  before  the  “  nations,”  in  order 
to  force  the  conviction  of  their  own  weakness  home  to 
them.  “Set  terror  for  them,”  the  word  terror  meaning 
not  the  emotion,  but  the  object  which  produces  it, 
namely  an  act  of  judgment  such  as  the  whole  psalm 
has  had  in  view.  Its  purpose  is  not  destruction,  but 
conviction,  the  wholesohie  consciousness  of  weakness, 
out  of  which  may  spring  the  recognition  of  their  own 
folly  and  of  God’s  strength  to  bless.  So  the  two  parts 
of  the  psalm  end  with  the  thought  that  the  “  nations  ” 
may  yet  come  to  know  the  name  of  God,  the  one 
calling  upon  those  who  have  experienced  His  deliver¬ 
ance  to  “  declare  among  the  peoples  His  doings,”  the 
other  praying  God  to  teach  by  chastisement  what  nations 
who  forget  Him  have  failed  to  learn  from  mercies. 


PSALM  X. 


1  (^>)  Why,  Jehovah,  dost  Thou  stand  far  off? 

Why  veilest  [Thine  eyes]  in  times  of  extremity  ? 

2  Through  the  pride  of  the  wicked  the  afflicted  is  burned  away; 
They  are  taken  in  the  plots  which  these  have  devised. 

3  For  the  wicked  boasts  of  his  soul’s  desire, 

And  the  rapacious  man  renounces,  contemns,  Jehovah. 

4  The  wicked,  by  (lit.,  according  to)  the  uplifting  of  his  nostrils, 

[says,]  He  will  not  inquire; 

There  is  no  God,  is  all  his  thought. 

5  His  ways  are  stable  at  all  times ; 

High  above  [him]  are  Thy  judgments,  remote  from  before  him; 
His  adversaries — he  snorts  at  them. 

6  He  says  in  his  heart,  I  shall  not  be  moved  ; 

To  generation  after  generation,  [I  am  he]  who  never  falls  into 
adversity. 

7  Of  cursing  his  mouth  is  full,  and  deceits,  and  oppression  ; 

Under  his  tongue  are  mischief  and  iniquity. 

8  He  couches  in  the  hiding-places  of  the  villages; 

In  secret  he  slays  the  innocent ; 

His  eyes  watch  the  helpless. 

9  He  lies  in  wait  in  secret,  like  a  lion  in  his  lair ; 

He  lies  in  wait  to  seize  the  afflicted  ; 

He  seizes  the  afflicted,  dragging  him  in  his  net. 

10  He  crouches,  he  bows  down, 

And  there  falls  into  his  strong  [claws]  the  helpless. 

1 1  He  says  in  his  heart,  God  forgets ; 

He  hides  His  face,  He  will  not  ever  see  it. 

12  (p)  Rise  !  Jehovah,  God  !  lift  up  Thy  handl 
Forget  not  the  afflicted. 

13  Wherefore  does  the  wicked  blaspheme  God, 

[And]  say  in  his  heart,  Thou  wilt  not  inquire  ? 

89 


90 


THE  PSALMS. 


14  (1)  Thou  hast  seen,  for  Thou,  Thou  dost  behold  mischief  and 

trouble,  to  take  it  into  Thy  hand  ; 

To  Thee  the  helpless  leaves  himself; 

The  orphan,  Thou,  Thou  hast  been  his  Helper. 

15  (fcy)  Break  the  arm  of  the  wicked ; 

As  for  the  evil  man,  inquire  for  his  wickedness  [till]  Thou  find 
,  none. 

16  Jehovah  is  King  for  ever  and  aye  ; 

The  nations  are  perished  out  of  the  land. 

17  (H)  The  desire  of  the  meek  Thou  hast  heard,  Jehovah  ; 

Thou  wilt  prepare  their  heart,  wilt  make  Thine  ear  attentive 

18  To  do  judgment  for  the  orphan  and  downtrodden  ; 

Terrible  no  more  shall  the  man  of  the  earth  be. 

PSALMS  ix.  and  x.  are  alike  in  their  imperfectly 
acrostic  structure,  the  occurrence  of  certain  phrases 
— e.g.}  the  very  uncommon  expression  for  “  times  of 
trouble”  (ix.  9  ;  x.  1),  “  Arise,  O  Lord”  (ix.  19;  x.  12) — 
and  the  references  to  the  nations’  judgment.  But  the 
differences  are  so  great  that  the  hypothesis  of  their 
original  unity  is  hard  to  accept.  As  already  remarked, 
the  enemies  are  different.  The  tone  of  the  one  psalm 
is  jubilant  thanksgiving  for  victory  won  and  judgment 
effected ;  that  of  the  other  is  passionate  portraiture  of 
a  rampant  foe  and  cries  for  a  judgment  yet  unmani¬ 
fested.  They  are  a  pair,  though  why  the  psalmist 
should  have  bound  together  two  songs  of  which  the 
unlikenesses  are  at  least  as  great  as  the  likenesses  it 
is  not  easy  to  discover.  The  circumstances  of  his  day 
may  have  brought  the  cruelty  of  domestic  robbers  close 
upon  the  heels  of  foreign  foes,  as  is  often  the  case,  but 
that  is  mere  conjecture. 

The  acrostic  structure  is  continued  into  Psalm  x.,  as 
if  the  last  stanza  of  ix.  had  begun  with  the  regular 
Kaph  instead  of  the  cognate  Qoph ;  but  it  then  dis¬ 
appears  till  ver.  12,  from  which  point  it  continues  to 


X.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


9* 


the  end  of  the  psalm,  with  the  anomaly  that  one  of  the 
four  stanzas  has  but  one  verse :  the  unusually  long 
verse  14.  These  four  stanzas  are  allotted  to  the  four 
last  letters  of  the  alphabet.  Six  letters  are  thus 
omitted,  to  which  twelve  verses  should  belong.  The 
nine  non-acrostic  verses  (3—1 1)  are  by  some  supposed 
to  be  substituted  for  the  missing  twelve,  but  there  are 
too  many  verbal  allusions  to  them  in  the  subsequent 
part  of  the  psalm  to  admit  of  their  being  regarded  as 
later  than  it.  Why,  then,  the  break  in  the  acrostic 
structure  ?  It  is  noticeable  that  the  (acrostic)  psalm 
ix.  is  wholly  addressed  to  God,  and  that  the  parts 
of  x.  which  are  addressed  to  Him  are  likewise 
acrostic,  the  section  vv.  3-1 1  being  the  vivid  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  ‘‘wicked,”  for  deliverance  from  whom  the 
psalmist  prays.  The  difference  of  theme  may  be  the 
solution  of  the  difference  of  form,  which  was  intended 
to  mark  off  the  prayer  stanzas  and  to  suggest,  by  the 
very  continuity  of  the  alphabetical  scheme  and  the 
allowance  made  for  the  letters  which  do  not  appear, 
the  calm  flow  of  devotion  and  persistency  of  prayer 
throughout  the  parenthesis  of  oppression.  The  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  “  wicked  ”  is  as  a  black  rock  damming  the 
river,  but  it  flows  on  beneath  and  emerges  beyond. 

The  psalm  falls  into  two  parts  after  the  introductory 
verse  of  petition  and  remonstrance:  vv.  3-1 1,  the 
grim  picture  of  the  enemy  of  the  “poor”;  and  vv.  12- 
18,  the  cry  for  deliverance  and  judgment. 

The  first  stanza  (vv.  1,  2)  gives  in  its  passionate 
cry  a  general  picture  of  the  situation,  which  is  entirely 
different  from  that  of  Psalm  ix.  The  two  opposite 
characters,  whose  relations  occupy  so  much  of  these 
early  psalms,  “  the  wicked  ”  and  “  the  poor,”  are,  as 
usual,  hunter  and  hunted,  and  God  is  passive,  as  if  far 


92 


THE  PSALMS. 


away,  and  hiding  His  eyes.  The  voice  of  complaining 
but  devout  remonstrance  is  singularly  like  the  voice  of 
arrogant  godlessness  (vv.  4-11),  but  the  fact  which 
brings  false  security  to  the  one  moves  the  other  to 
prayer.  The  boldness  and  the  submissiveness  of 
devotion  are  both  throbbing  in  that  “  Why  ?  ”  and 
beneath  it  lies  the  entreaty  to  break  this  apparent 
apathy.  Ver.  2  spreads  the  facts  of  the  situation  be¬ 
fore  God.  “  Through  the  pride  of  the  wicked  the  afflicted 
is  burned,”  i.e.,  with  anguish,  pride  being  the  fierce  fire 
and  burning  being  a  vigorous  expression  for  anguish, 
or  possibly  for  destruction.  The  ambiguous  next 
clause  may  either  have  “  the  wicked  ”  or  “  the  poor  ” 
for  its  subject.  If  the  former  (R.V.),  it  is  a  prayer 
that  the  retribution  which  has  been  already  spoken  of 
in  Psalm  ix.  may  fall,  but  the  context  rather  suggests 
the  other  construction,  carrying  on  the  description  of 
the  sufferings  of  the  poor,  with  an  easy  change  to  the 
pliirdl,  since  the  singular  is  a  collective.  This,  then, 
being  how  things  stand,  the  natural  flow  of  thought 
would  be  the  continuance  of  the  prayer ;  but  the  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  enemy  sets  the  psalmist  on  fire,  and  he 
**  burns  ”  in  another  fashion,  flaming  out  into  a  passion¬ 
ate  portraiture  of  the  wicked,  which  is  marked  as  an 
interruption  to  the  current  of  his  song  by  the  cessation 
of  the  acrostic  arrangement. 

The  picture  is  drawn  with  extraordinary  energy,  and 
describes  first  the  character  (vv.  3-6)  and  then  the  con¬ 
duct  of  the  wicked.  The  style  reflects  the  vehemence  of 
the  psalmist’s  abhorrence,  being  full  of  gnarled  phrases 
and  harsh  constructions.  As  with  a  merciless  scalpel 
the  inner  heart  of  the  man  is  laid  open.  Observe  the 
recurrence  of  “saith,”  “thoughts,”  and  “saith  in  his 
heart.”  But  first  comes  a  feature  of  character  which  is 


X.J 


'l  HE  PSALMS. 


93 


open  and  palpable.  He  “  boasts  of  his  soul’s  desire.” 
What  is  especially  flagrant  in  that  ?  The  usual  expla¬ 
nation  is  that  he  is  not  ashamed  of  his  shameful  lusts, 
but  glories  in  them,  or  that  he  boasts  of  succeeding 
in  all  that  he  desires.  But  what  will  a  good  man 
do  with  his  heart’s*  desires  ?  Ver.  J  tells  us,  namely 
breathe  them  to  God ;  and  therefore  to  boast  of  them 
instead  is  the  outward  expression  of  godless  self- 
confidence  and  resolve  to  consult  inclination  and  not 
God.  The  word  rendered  boast  has  the  two  significa¬ 
tions  of  pray  and  boast,  and  the  use  of  it  here,  in  the 
worse  one,  is  parallel  with  the  use  of  bless  or  renounce  in 
the  next  clause.  The  wicked  is  also  “  rapacious,”  for 
“  covetous  ”  is  too  weak.  He  grasps  all  that  he  can 
reach  by  fair  or  foul  means.  Such  a  man  in  effect  and 
by  his  very  selfish  greed  “  renounces,  contemns  God.” 
He  may  be  a  worshipper ;  but  his  “  blessing  ”  is  like 
a  parting  salutation,  dismissing  Him  to  whom  it  is 
addressed.  There  is  no  need  to  suppose  that  con¬ 
scious  apostacy  is  meant.  Rather  the  psalmist  is 
laying  bare  the  under-meaning  of  the  earth-bound 
man’s  life,  and  in  effect  anticipates  Christ’s  “Ye  cannot 
serve  God  and  mammon  ”  and  Paul’s  “  covetousness 
which  is  idolatry.” 

The  next  trait  of  character  is  practical  atheism  and 
denial  of  Divine  retribution.  The  Hebrew  is  rough 
and  elliptical,  but  the  A.V.  misses  its  point,  which  the 
R.V.  gives  by  the  introduction  of  “saith.”  “The 
pride  of  his  countenance  ”  is  literally  “  the  elevation 
of  his  nose.”  Translate  those  upturned  nostrils  into 
words,  and  they  mean  that  God  will  not  require  (seek, 
in  the  sense  of  punish).  But  a  God  wTho  does  not 
punish  is  a  dim  shape,  through  which  the  empty  sky 
is  seen,  and  the  denial  (or  forgetfulness)  of  God’s  retri- 


94 


THE  PSALMS. 


butive  judgment  is  equivalent  to  denying  that  there  is 
a  God  at  all. 

Thus  armed,  the  wicked  is  in  fancied  security.  “  His 
ways  are  firm  ” — i.e.,  he  prospers — and,  in  the  very  mad¬ 
ness  of  arrogance,  he  scoffs  at  God’s  judgments  as  too 
high  up  to  be  seen.  His  scoff  is  a  truth,  for  how  can 
eyes  glued  to  earth  see  the  solemn  lights  that  move 
in  the  heavens  ?  Purblind  men  say,  We  do  not  see 
them,  and  mean,  They  are  not ;  but  all  that  their  speech 
proves  is  their  own  blindness.  Defiant  of  God,  he  is 
truculent  to  men,  and  “snorts  contempt  at  his  enemies.” 
“  In  his  heart  he  says,  I  shall  not  be  moved.”  The 
same  words  express  the  sane  confidence  of  the  devout 
soul  and  the  foolish  presumption  of  the  man  of  the 
earth ;  but  the  one  says,  “  because  He  is  at  my  right 
hand,”  and  the  other  trusts  in  himself.  “To  all  genera¬ 
tions  I  shall  not  be  in  adversity  ”  (R.V.).  The  Hebrew 
is  gnarled  and  obscure ;  and  attempts  to  amend  the  text 
have  been  made  (compare  Cheyne,  Gratz  in  loci)y  but 
needlessly.  The  confidence  has  become  almost  insane, 
and  has  lost  sight  altogether  of  the  brevity  of  life. 
“His  inward  thought  is  that  he  shall  continue  for  ever” 
(Psalm  xlix.).  “  Pride  stifles  reason.  The  language 
of  the  heart  cannot  be  translated  into  spoken  words 
without  seeming  exaggeration  ”  (Cheyne).  He  who  can 
be  so  blind  to  facts  as  to  find  no  God  may  well  carry 
his  blindness  a  step  further  and  wink  hard  enough  to 
see  no  death,  or  may  live  as  if  he  did  not. 

Following  the  disclosure  of  the  inner  springs  of  life 
in  the  secret  thoughts  comes,  in  vv.  7-10,  the  outcome 
of  these  in  word  and  deed.  When  the  wicked  “lets 
the  rank  tongue  blossom  into  speech,”  the  product  is 
affronts  to  God  and  maledictions,  lies,  mischiefs,  for  men. 
These  stuff  the  mouth  full,  and  lie  under  the  tongue 


X.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


95 


as  sweet  morsels  for  the  perverted  taste  or  as  stored 
there,  ready  to  be  shot  out.  The  deeds  match  the 
words.  The  vivid  picture  of  a  prowling  lion  seems  to 
begin  in  ver.  8,  though  it  is  sometimes  taken  as  the 
unmetaphorical  description  of  the  wicked  man’s  crime. 
The  stealthy  couching  of  the  beast  of  prey,  hiding 
among  the  cover  round  the  unwalled  village  or  poorly 
sheltered  fold,  the  eyes  gleaming  out  of  the  darkness 
and  steadfastly  fixed  on  the  victim  with  a  baleful  light 
in  them,  belong  to  the  figure,  which  is  abruptly  changed 
in  one  clause  (ver.  9  c )  into  that  of  a  hunter  with  his 
net,  and  then  is  resumed  and  completed  in  ver.  10, 
where  the  R.V.  is,  on  the  whole,  to  be  preferred 
— “  He  croucheth  ;  he  boweth  down  ” — as  resuming 
the  figure  at  the  point  where  it  had  been  interrupted 
and  finishing  it  in  the  next  clause,  with  the  helpless 
victim  fallen  into  the  grip  of  the  strong  claws.  With 
great  emphasis  the  picture  is  rounded  off  (ver.  11)  with 
the  repetition  of  the  secret  thought  of  God’s  forget¬ 
fulness,  which  underlies  the  cruel  oppression. 

This  whole  section  indicates  a  lawless  condition  in 
which  open  violence,  robbery,  and  murder  were  common. 
In  Hosea’s  vigorous  language,  “  blood  touched  blood,” 
the  splashes  being  so  numerous  that  they  met,  and  the 
land  was  red  with  them.  There  is  no  reason  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  the  picture  is  ideal  or  exaggerated.  Where 
in  the  turbulent  annals  of  Israel  it  is  to  be  placed  must 
remain  uncertain ;  but  that  it  is  a  transcript  of  bitter 
experience  is  obvious,  and  the  aspect  which  it  presents 
should  be  kept  in  view  as  a  corrective  of  the  tendency  to 
idealise  the  moral  condition  of  Israel,  which  at  no  time 
was  free  from  dark  stains,  and  which  offered  only  too 
many  epochs  of  disorganisation  in  which  the  dark  picture 
of  the  psalm  could  have  been  photographed  from  life. 


96 


THE  PSALMS. 


The  phrases  for  the  victims  in  this  section  are  note¬ 
worthy  :  “  the  innocent  ”  ;  “  the  helpless  ”  ;  “  the  poor.” 
Of  these  the  first  and  last  are  frequent,  and  the  mean¬ 
ing  .obvious.  There  is  a  doubt  whether  the  last  should 
be  regarded  as  the  designation  of  outward  condition  or 
of  disposition,  i.e.  whether  “  meek  ”  or  “  poor  ”  is  the 
idea.  There  are  two  cognate  words  in  Hebrew,  one  of 
which  means  one  who  is  bowed  down,  i.e.  by  outward 
troubles,  and  the  other  one  who  bows  himself  down, 
i.e.  is  meek.  The  margin  of  the  Hebrew  Bible  is  fond 
of  correcting  these  words  when  they  occur  in  the  text 
and  substituting  the  one  for  the  other,  but  arbitrarily ; 
and  it  is  doubtful  wThether  in  actual  usage  there  is  any 
real  distinction  between  them.  “  Helpless  ”  is  a  word 
only  found  in  this  psalm  (vv.  8,  io,  14),  which  has 
received  various  explanations,  but  is  probably  derived 
from  a  root  meaning  to  be  black ,  and  hence  comes  to 
mean  miserable ,  hapless ,  or  the  like.  All  the  designa¬ 
tions  refer  to  a  class — namely,  the  devout  minority, 
the  true  Israel  within  Israel — and  hence  the  plurals  in 
vv.  10,  12,  and  17. 

The  second  part  of  the  psalm  (ver.  12  to  end)  is  the 
prayer,  forced  from  the  heart  of  the  persecuted  remnant, 
God’s  little  flock  in  the  midst  of  wolves.  No  trace  of 
individual  reference  appears  in  it,  nor  any  breath  of 
passion  or  vengeance,  such  as  is  found  in  some  of  the 
psalms  of  persecution  ;  but  it  glows  with  indignation 
at  the  blasphemies  which  are,  for  the  moment,  trium¬ 
phant,  and  cries  aloud  to  God  for  a  judicial  act  which 
shall  shatter  the  dream  that  He  does  not  see  and  will 
not  requite.  That  impious  boast,  far  more  than  the 
personal  incidence  of  sufferings,  moves  the  prayer.  As 
regards  its  form,  the  reappearance  of  the  acrostic 
arrangement  is  significant,  as  is  the  repetition  of  the 


X.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


91 


prayer  and  letter  of  ix.  19,  which  binds  the  two  psalms 
together.  The  acrostic  reappears  with  the  direct 
address  to  God.  The  seven  verses  of  the  prayer  are 
divided  by  it  into  four  groups,  one  of  which  is  abnormal 
as  containing  but  one  verse,  the  unusual  length  of 
which,  however,  somewhat  compensates  for  the  irregu¬ 
larity  (ver.  14).  The  progress  of  thought  in  them 
follows  the  logic  of  emotional  prayer  rather  than  of  the 
understanding.  First,  there  are  a  vehement  cry  for 
God’s  intervention  and  a  complaint  of  His  mysterious 
apparent  apathy.  The  familiar  figure  for  the  Divine 
flashing  forth  of  judgment,  “  Arise,  O  Lord,”  is  intensi¬ 
fied  by  the  other  cry  that  He  would  “  lift  His  hand.” 
A  God  who  has  risen  from  His  restful  throne  and 
raised  His  arm  is  ready  to  bring  it  down  with  a  shatter¬ 
ing  blow ;  but  before  it  falls  the  psalmist  spreads  in 
God’s  sight  the  lies  of  the  scornful  men.  They  had  said 
(ver.  1 1)  that  He  forgot ;  the  prayer  pleads  that  He 
would  not  forget.  Their  confidence  was  that  He  did 
not  see  nor  would  requite ;  the  psalmist  is  bold  to 
ask  the  reason  for  the  apparent  facts  which  permit 
such  a  thought.  The  deepest  reverence  will  question 
God  in  a  fashion  which  would  be  daring,  if  it  were  not 
instinct  with  the  assurance  of  the  clearness  of  His 
Divine  knowledge  of  evil  and  of  the  worthiness  of  the 
reasons  for  its  impunity.  “  Wherefore  doest  Thou 
thus?”  may  be  insolence  or  faith.  Next,  the  prayer 
centres  itself  on  the  facts  of  faith,  which  sense  does 
not  grasp  (ver.  14).  The  specific  acts  of  oppression 
which  force  out  the  psalmist’s  cry  are  certainly 
“  seen  ”  by  God,  for  it  is  His  very  nature  to  look  on  all 
such  (“Thou  ”  in  ver.  14  is  emphatic)  ;  and  faith  argues 
from  the  character  to  the  acts  of  God  and  from  the 
general  relation  of  all  sin  towards  Him  to  that  which  at 

7 


I 

I 


98  THE  PSALMS. 

~  ~  '  “  ✓ 

present  afflicts  the  meek.  But  is  God’s  gaze  on  the 
evil  an  idle  look  ?  No ;  He  sees,  and  the  sight  moves 
Him  to  act.  Such  is  the  force  of  “to  take  it  into 
Thy  hand,”  which  expresses  the  purpose  and  issue  of 
the  beholding.  What  He  sees  He  “takes  in  hand,” 
as  we  say,  with  a  similar  colloquialism.  If  a  man 
believes  these  things  about  God,  it  will  follow  of  course 
that  he  will  leave  himself  in  God’s  hand,  that  uplifted 
hand  which  prayer  has  moved.  So  ver.  14  is  like  a 
great  picture  in  two  compartments,  as  Raphael’s  Ti«ns- 
figuration.  Above  is  God,  risen  with  lifted  arm, 
beholding  and  ready  to  strike ;  beneath  is  the  helpless 
man,  appealing  to  God  by  the  very  act  of  “leaving” 
himself  to  Him.  That  absolute  reliance  has  an  all- 
prevalent  voice  which  reaches  the  Divine  heart,  as 
surely  as  her  child’s  wail  the  mother’s  ;  and  wherever 
it  is  exercised  the  truth  of  faith  which  the  past  has 
established  becomes  a  truth  of  experience  freshly  con¬ 
firmed.  The  form  of  the  sentence  in  the  Hebrew  (the 
substantive  verb  with  a  participle,  “Thou  hast  been 
helping”)  gives  prominence  to  the  continuousness  of  the 
action :  It  has  always  been  Thy  way,  and  it  is  so  still. 
Of  course  “  fatherless  ”  here  is  tantamount  to  the 
“  hapless,”  or  poor,  of  the  rest  of  the  psalm. 

Then  at  last  comes  the  cry  for  the  descent  of  God’s 
uplifted  hand  (vv.  15,  16).  It  is  not  invoked  to 
destroy,  but  simply  to  “break  the  arm”  of,  the  wicked, 
i.e.  to  make  him  powerless  for  mischief,  as  a  swords¬ 
man  with  a  shattered  arm  is.  One  blow  from  God’s 
hand  lames,  and  the  arm  hangs  useless.  The  impious 
denial  of  the  Divine  retribution  still  affects  the  psalmist 
with  horror ;  and  he  returns  to  it  in  the  second 
clause  of  ver.  15,  in  which  he  prays  that  God  would 
“seek  out” — i.e.,  require  and  requite,  so  as  to  abolish 


X.J 


THE  PSALMS. 


99 


and  make  utterly  non-existent — the  wicked  man’s 
wickedness.  The  yearning  of  every  heart  that  beats 
in  sympathy  with  and  devotion  to  God,  especially  when 
it  is  tortured  by  evil  experienced  or  beheld  flourishing 
unsmitten,  is  for  its  annihilation.  There  is  no  prayer 
here  for  the  destruction  of  the  doer  ;  but  the  reduction 
to  nothingness  of  his  evil  is  the  worthy  aspiration  of 
all  the  good,  and  they  who  have  no  sympathy  with 
such  a  cry  as  this  have  either  small  experience  of 
evil,  or  a  feeble  realisation  of  its  character. 

The  psalmist  was  heartened  to  pray  his  prayer, 
because  “the  nations  are  perished  out  of  His  land.” 
Does  that  point  back  to  the  great  instance  of  exter¬ 
minating  justice  in  the  destruction  of  the  Canaanites  ? 
It  may  do  so,  but  it  is  rather  to  be  taken  as  referring 
to  the  victories  celebrated  in  the  companion  psalm. 
Note  the  recurrence  of  the  words  “  nations  ”  and 
“  perished,”  which  are  drawn  from  it.  The  connection 
between  the  two  psalms  is  thus  witnessed,  and  the 
deliverance  from  foreign  enemies,  which  is  the  theme 
of  Psalm  ix.,  is  urged  as  a  plea  with  God  and  taken 
as  a  ground  of  confidence  by  the  psalmist  himself  for 
the  completion  of  the  deliverance  by  making  domestic 
oppressors  powerless.  This  lofty  height  of  faith  is 
preserved  in  the  closing  stanza,  in  which  the  agitation 
of  the  first  part  and  the  yearning  of  the  second  are 
calmed  into  serene  assurance  that  the  Ecclesia  pressa 
has  not  cried  nor  ever  can  cry  in  vain.  Into  the 
praying,  trusting  heart  “  the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth 
understanding,”  steals,  and  the  answer  is  certified  to 
faith  long  before  it  is  manifest  to  sense.  To  pray  and 
immediately  to  feel  the  thrilling  consciousness,  “Thou 
hast  heard,”  is  given  to  those  who  pray  in  faith.  The 
wicked  makes  a  boast  of  his  “  desire  ” ;  the  humble  makes 


IOO 


THE  PSALMS 


a  prayer  of  it,  and  so  has  it  fulfilled.  Desires  which 
can  be  translated  into  petitions  will  be  converted  into 
fruition.  If  the  heart  is  humble,  that  Divine  breath 
will  be  breathed  over  and  into  it  which  will  prepare 
it  to  desire  only  what  accords  with  God’s  will,  and  the 
prepared  heart  will  always  find  God’s  ear  open.  The 
cry  of  the  hapless ,  which  has  been  put  into  their  lips 
by  God  Himself,  is  the  appointed  prerequisite  of  the 
manifestations  of  Divine  judgment  which  will  relieve 
the  earth  of  the  incubus  of  “  the  man  of  the  earth.” 
“Shall  not  God  avenge  His  own  elect,  though  He  bear 
long  with  them  ?  I  tell  you  that  He  will  avenge  them 
speedily.”  The  prayer  of  the  humble,  like  a  whisper 
amid  the  avalanches,  has  power  to  start  the  swift,  white 
destruction  on  its  downward  path ;  and  when  once  that 
gliding  mass  has  way  on  it,  nothing  which  it  smites 
can  stand. 


PSALM  XI. 


1  In  Jehovah  have  I  taken  reluge ; 

How  say  ye  to  my  soul, 

Flee  to  the  mountain  as  a  bird  ? 

2  For  lo,  the  wicked  bend  the  bow, 

They  make  ready  their  arrow  upon  the  string, 

To  shoot  in  the  dark  at  those  who  are  upright  of  heait. 

3  For  the  foundations  are  being  destroyed  ; 

The  righteous — what  hath  he  achieved  ? 

4  Jehovah'in  His  holy  palace,  Jehovah, .whose  throne  is  in  heaven — 
His  eyes  behold,  His  eyelids  try,  the  children  of  men. 

5  Jehovah  trieth  the  righteous, 

But  the  wicked  and  lover  of  violence  His  soul  hateth. 

6  May  He  rain  upon  the  wicked  snares ; 

Fire  and  brimstone  and  a  burning  wind  be  the  portion  of  their 
cup  ! 

7  For  Jehovah  is  righteous  :  righteous  deeds  He  loveth  ; 

The  upright  shall  behold  His  face. 

THE  correctness  of  the  superscription  is,  in  the 
present  case,  defended  by  Ewald  and  Hitzig. 
Delitzsch  refers  the  psalm  to  the  eve  of  Absalom’s 
conspiracy,  while  other  supporters  of  the  Davidic 
authorship  prefer  the  Sauline  persecution.  The  situa¬ 
tion  as  described  in  the  psalm  corresponds  sufficiently 
well  to  either  of  these  periods,  in  both  of  which  David 
was  surrounded  by  stealthy  hostility  and  counselled 
by  prudence  to  flight.  But  there  are  no  definite  marks 
of  date  in  the  psalm  itself ;  and  all  that  is  certain  is  its 
many  affinities  with  the  other  psalms  of  the  group 
which  Cheyne  calls  the  “  persecution  psalms,”  including 

lOI 


102 


THE  PSALMS. 


iii.-vii.,  ix.-xiv.,  xvii.  These  resemblances  make  a 
common  authorship  probable. 

The  structure  of  the  psalm  is  simple  and  striking. 
There  are  two  vividly  contrasted  halves ;  the  first  gives 
the  suggestions  of  timid  counsellors  who  see  only  along 
the  low  levels  of  earth,  the  second  the  brave  answer 
of  faith  which  looks  up  into  heaven. 

In  the  first  part  (vv.  1-3)  the  psalmist  begins  with 
an  utterance  of  faith,  which  makes  him  recoil  with 
wonder  and  aversion  from  the  cowardly,  well-meant 
counsels  of  his  friends.  “  In  Jehovah  have  I  taken 
refuge  ” — a  profession  of  faith  which  in  Psalm  vii.  I 
was  laid  as  the  basis  of  prayer  for  deliverance  and  is 
here  the  ground  for  steadfastly  remaining  where  he 
stands.  The  metaphor  of  flight  to  a  stronghold,  which 
is  in  the  word  for  trust,  obviously  colours  the  context, 
for  what  can  be  more  absurd  than  that  he  who  has 
sought  and  found  shelter  in  God  Himself  should  listen 
to  the  whisperings  of  his  own  heart  or  to  the  advice  of 
friends  and  hurry  to  some  other  hiding-place  ?  “  He 

that  believeth  shall  not  make  haste,”  and,  even  when 
the  floods  come,  shall  not  need  to  seek  in  wild  hurry 
for  an  asylum  above  the  rising  waters.  Safe  in  God, 
the  psalmist  wonders  why  such  counsel  should  be  given, 
and  his  question  expresses  its  irrationality  and  his  rejec¬ 
tion  of  it.  But  these  timid  voices  spoke  to  his  “  soul,” 
and  the  speakers  are  undefined.  Is  he  apostrophising 
his  own  lower  nature  ?  Have  we  here  a  good  man’s 
dialogue  with  himself?  Were  there  two  voices  in  him  : 
the  voice  of  sense,  which  spoke  to  the  soul,  and  that  of 
the  soul,  which  spoke  authoritatively  to  sense  ?  Calvin 
finds  here  the  mention  of  spirituales  luctas ;  and  whether 
there  were  actual  counsellors  of  flight  or  no,  no  doubt 
prudence  and  fear  said  to  and  in  his  soul,  u  Flee.” 


xi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


103 


If  we  might  venture  to  suppose  that  the  double 
thought  of  the  oneness  of  the  psalmist’s  personality 
and  the  manifoldness  of  his  faculties  was  in  his  mind, 
we  should  have  an  explanation  of  the  strange  fluctua¬ 
tion  between  singulars  and  plurals  in  ver.  1  b.  “  Flee  ” 
is  plural,  but  is  addressed  to  a  singular  subject :  “  my 
soul”;  “your”  is  also  plural,  and  “bird”  singular. 
The  Hebrew  marginal  correction  smooths  away  the  first 
anomaly  by  reading  the  singular  imperative,  but  that 
leaves  the  anomaly  in  “your.”  The  LXX.  and  other 
old  versions  had  apparently  a  slightly  different  text, 
which  got  rid  of  that  'anomaly  by  reading  (with  the 
addition  of  one  letter  and  a  change  in  the  division  of 
words),  “  Flee  to  the  mountain  as  a  bird  ”  ;  and  that 
is  probably  the  best  solution  of  the  difficulty.  One  can 
scarcely  fail  to  recall  the  comparison  of  David  to  a 
partridge  hunted  on  the  mountains.  Cheyne  finds  in 
the  plurals  a  proof  that  “it  is  the  Church  within  the 
Jewish  nation  of  which  the  poet  thinks.”  The  timid 
counsel  is  enforced  by  two  considerations  :  the  danger 
of  remaining  a  mark  for  the  stealthy  foe  and  the 
nobler  thought  of  the  hopelessness  of  resistance,  and 
therefore  the  quixotism  of  sacrificing  one’s  self  in  a 
prolongation  of  it. 

The  same  figure  employed  in  Psalm  vii.  12  of  God’s 
judgments  on  the  wicked  is  here  used  of  the  wicked’s 
artillery  against  the  righteous.  The  peril  is  imminent, 
for  the  bows  are  bent,  and  the  arrows  already  fitted  to 
the  string.  In  midnight  darkness  the  assault  will  be 
made  (compare  lxiv.  3,  4).  The  appeal  to  the  instinct 
of  self-preservation  is  reinforced  by  the  consideration 
(ver.  3)  of  the  impotence  of  efforts  to  check  the  general 
anarchy.  The  particle  at  the  beginning  of  the  verse  is 
best  taken  as  in  the  same  sense  as  at  the  beginning 


I 


104 


THE  PSALMS. 


of  ver.  2,  thus  introducing  a  second  co-ordinate  reason 
for  the  counsel.  The  translation  of  it  as  hypothetical 
or  temporal  (if  or  when)  rather  weakens  the  urgency  of 
ver.  3  as  a  motive  for  flight.  The  probably  exaggerated 
fears  of  the  advisers,  who  are  still  speaking,  are 
expressed  in  two  short,  breathless  sentences  :  "  The 
foundations  [of  society]  are  being  torn  down ;  the 
righteous — what  has  he  achieved?  ”  or  possibly,  u  What 
can  he  do  ?  ”  In  either  case,  the  implication  is,  Why 
wage  a  hopeless  conflict  any  longer  at  the  peril  of  life  ? 
All  is  lost ;  the  wise  thing  to  do  is  to  run.  It  is  obvious 
that  this  description  of  the  dissolution  of  the  founda¬ 
tions  of  the  social  order  is  either  the  exaggeration  of 
fear,  or  poetic  generalisation  from  an  individual  case 
(David’s),  or  refers  the  psalm  to  some  time  of  anarchy, 
when  things  were  much  worse  than  even  in  the  time 
of  Saul  or  Absalom. 

All  these  suggestions  may  well  represent  the  voice 
of  our  own  fears,  the  whispers  of  sense  and  sloth, 
which  ever  dwell  on  and  exaggerate  the  perils  in  the 
road  of  duty,  and  bid  us  abandon  resistance  to  prevail¬ 
ing  evils  as  useless  and  betake  ourselves  to  the  repose 
and  security  of  some  tempting  nest  far  away  from 
strife.  But  such  counsels  are  always  base,  and  though 
they  be  the  result  of  “  prudence,”  are  short-sighted, 
and  leave  out  precisely  the  determining  factor  in  the 
calculation.  The  enemy  may  have  fitted  his  arrows 
to  the  string,  but  there  is  another  bow  bent  which  will 
be  drawn  before  his  (Psalm  vii.  12).  The  foundations 
are  not  being  destroyed,  however  many  and  strong  the 
arms  that  are  trying  to  dig  them  up.  The  righteous 
has  done  much,  and  can  do  more,  though  his  work 
seem  wasted.  Self-preservation  is  not  a  man’s  first 
duty ;  flight  is  his  last.  Better  and  wiser  and  in- 


xi.]  THE  PSALMS.  105 

finitely  nobler  to  stand  a  mark  for  the  “slings  and 
arrows  of  outrageous  fortune  ”  and  to  stop  at  our  post, 
though  we  fall  there,  better  infinitely  to  toil  on,  even 
when  toil  seems  vain,  than  cowardly  to  keep  a  whole 
skin  at  the  cost  of  a  wounded  conscience  or  despair¬ 
ingly  to  fling  up  work,  because  the  ground  is  hard 
and  the  growth  of  the  seed  imperceptible.  Prudent 
advices,  when  the  prudence  is  only  inspired  by  sense, 
are  generally  foolish ;  and  the  only  reasonable  attitude 
is  obstinate  hopefulness  and  brave  adherence  to  duty. 

So  the  psalm  turns,  in  its  second  part,  from  these 
creeping  counsels,  which  see  but  half  the  field  of  vision, 
and  that  the  lower,  to  soar  and  gaze  on  the  upper 
half.  “  God  is  in  heaven ;  all’s  right  with  the  world,” 
and  with  the  good  men  who  are  trying  to  help  to 
make  it  right.  The  poet  opposes  to  the  picture  drawn 
by  fear  the  vision  of  the  opened  heaven  and  the  throned 
Jehovah.  In  ver.  4  the  former  part  is  not  to  be  taken 
as  a  separate  affirmation :  “  The  Lord  is,”  etc.,  but 
“Jehovah”  is  a  nominative  absolute,  and  the  weight  of 
the  sentence  falls  on  the  last  clause.  The  “  holy  palace  ” 
in  which  Jehovah  is  beheld  enthroned  is  not  on  earth, 
as  the  parallelism  of  the  clauses  shows.  To  the  eyes 
that  have  seen  that  vision  and  before  which  it  ever 
burns,  all  earthly  sorrows  and  dangers  seem  small. 
There  is  the  true  asylum  of  the  hunted  soul ;  that 
is  the  mountain  to  which  it  is  wise  to  flee.  If  the 
faint-hearted  had  seen  that  sight,  their  timid  counsels 
would  have  caught  a  new  tone.  They  are  preposterous 
to  him  who  does  see  it.  For  not  only  does  he  behold 
Jehovah  enthroned,  but  he  sees  Him  scrutinising  all 
men’s  acts.  We  bring  the  eyelids  close  when  minutely 
examining  any  small  thing.  So  God  is  by  a  bold 
figure  represented  as  doing,  and  the  word  for  “beholds  ” 


io6 


THE  PSALMS. 


has  to  divide  as  its  root  idea,  and  hence  implies  a  keen 
discriminating  gaze.  As  fire  tries  metal,  so  He  tries 
men.  And  the  result  of  the  trial  is  twofold,  as  is 
described  in  the  two  clauses  of  ver.  5,  which  each 
require  to  be  completed  from  the  other:  “The  Lord 
trieth  the  righteous  (and  finding  him  approved,  loveth), 
but  the  wicked  ”  (He  trieth,  and  finding  him  base 
metal),  His  soul  “  hateth.”  In  the  former  clause  the 
process  of  trial  is  mentioned,  and  its  result  omitted ;  in 
the  latter  the  process  is  omitted,  and  the  result  de¬ 
scribed.  The  strong  anthropomorphism  which  attributes 
a  “  soul  ”  to  God  and  “  hatred  ”  to  His  soul  is  not  to 
be  slurred  over  as  due  to  the  imperfection  of  Hebrew 
ideas  of  the  Divine  nature.  There  is  necessarily  in  the 
Divine  nature  an  aversion  to  evil  and  to  the  man  who 
has  so  completely  given  himself  over  to  it  as  to  "  love  ” 
it.  Such  perverted  love  can  only  have  turned  to  it  that 
side  of  the  Divine  character  which  in  gravity  of  disap¬ 
probation  and  recoil  from  evil  answers  to  what  we  call 
hate,  but  neither  desires  to  harm  nor  is  perturbed  by 
passion.  The  New  Testament  is  as  emphatic  as  the  Old 
in  asserting  the  reality  of  “  the  wrath  of  God.”  But 
there  are  limitation  and  imperfection  in  this  psalm  in 
that  it  does  not  transcend  the  point  of  view  which 
regards  man’s  conduct  as  determining  God’s  attitude. 
Retribution,  not  forgiveness  nor  the  possibility  of  chang¬ 
ing  the  moral  bias  of  character,  is  its  conception  of  the 
relations  of  man  and  God. 

The  Divine  estimate,  which  in  ver.  5  is  the  result  of 
God’s  trial  of  the  two  classes,  is  carried  forward  in 
vv.  6  and  7  to  its  twofold  issues.  But  the  form  of 
ver.  6  is  that  of  a  wish,  not  of  a  prediction ;  and  here 
again  we  encounter  the  tone  which,  after  all  allowances, 
must  be  regarded  as  the  result  of  the  lower  stage  of 


THE  PSALMS. 


107 


xi.] 

revelation  on  which  the  psalmist  stood,  even  though 
personal  revenge  need  not  be  ascribed  to  him.  In  the 
terrible  picture  of  the  judgment  poured  down  from  the 
open  heavens  into  which  the  singer  has  been  gazing, 
there  is  a  reproduction  of  the  destruction  of  the  cities  of 
the  plain,  the  fate  of  which  stands  in  the  Old  Testament 
as  the  specimen  and  prophecy  of  all  subsequent  acts  of 
judgment.  But  the  rain  from  heaven  is  conceived  as 
consisting  of  “  snares,”  which  is  a  strangely  incongruous 
idea.  Such  mingled  metaphors  are  less  distasteful  to 
Hebrew  poets  than  to  Western  critics ;  and  the  various 
expedients  to  smooth  this  one  away,  such  as  altering 
the  text  and  neglecting  the  accents  and  reading  “coals 
of  fire,”  are  unnecessary  sacrifices  to  correctness  of 
style.  Delitzsch  thinks  that  the  “  snares  ”  are  “  a  whole 
discharge  of  lassoes,”  i.e.  lightnings,  the  zigzag  course 
of  which  may  be  compared  to  a  “  noose  thrown  down 
from  above”  1  The  purpose  of  the  snares  is  to  hold  fast 
the  victims  so  that  they  cannot  escape  the  fiery  rain 
— a  terrible  picture,  the  very  incongruity  of  figure 
heightening  the  grim  effect.  The  division  of  the  verse 
according  to  the  accents  parts  the  snares  from  the  actual 
components  of  the  fatal  shower,  and  makes  the  second 
half  of  the  verse  an  independent  clause,  which  is  pro¬ 
bably  to  be  taken,  like  the  former  clause,  as  a  wish : 
“Fire  and  brimstone  and  a  burning  wind  [Zornhauch, 
Hupfeld]  be  the  portion  of  their  cup,”  again  an  incon¬ 
gruity  making  the  representation  more  dreadful.  What 
a  draught — flaming  brimstone  and  a  hot  blast  as  of  the 
simoom !  The  tremendous  metaphor  suggests  awful 
reality. 

But  the  double  judgment  of  ver.  5  has  a  gentler 
side,  and  the  reason  for  the  tempest  of  wrath  is  likewise 
that  for  the  blessed  hope  of  the  upright,  as  the  “for”  of 


ioS 


THE  PSALMS. 


ver.  7  teaches.  “  Jehovah  is  righteous.”  That  is  the 
rock  foundation  for  the  indomitable  faith  of  the  Psalter 
in  the  certain  ultimate  triumph  of  patient,  afflicted 
righteousness.  Because  God  in  His  own  character  is 
so,  He  must  love  righteous  acts — His  own  and  men’s. 
The  latter  seems  to  be  the  meaning  here,  where  the 
fate  of  men  is  the  subject  in  hand.  The  Divine  “  love  ” 
is  here  contrasted  with  both  the  wicked  man’s  “love” 
of  “violence”  and  God’s  “hate”  (ver.  5),  and  is  the 
foundation  of  the  final  confidence,  “The  upright  shall 
behold  His  face.”  The  converse  rendering,  “His  coun¬ 
tenance  doth  behold  the  upright  ”  (A.V.),  is  grammati¬ 
cally  permissible,  but  would  be  flat,  tautological — since 
ver.  4  has  already  said  so — and  inappropriate  to  the  close, 
where  a  statement  as  to  the  upright,  antithetical  to  that 
as  to  the  wicked,  is  needed.  God  looks  on  the  upright,  as 
has  been  said ;  and  the  upright  shall  gaze  on  Him,  here 
and  now  in  the  communion  of  that  faith  which  is  a 
better  kind  of  sight  and  hereafter  in  the  vision  of 
heaven,  which  the  psalmist  was  on  the  verge  of  antici¬ 
pating.  That  mutual  gaze  is  blessedness.  They  who, 
looking  up,  behold  Jehovah  are  brave  to  front  all  foes 
and  to  keep  calm  hearts  in  the  midst  of  alarms.  Hope 
burns  like  a  pillar  of  fire  in  them  when  it  is  gone  out  in 
others ;  and  to  all  the  suggestions  of  their  own  timidity 
or  of  others  they  have  the  answer,  “  In  the  Lord  have  I 
put  my  trust ;  how  say  ye  to  my  soul,  Flee  ?  ”  “  Here 

I  stand;  I  can  do  no  otherwise.  God  help  me.  Amen.” 


PSALM  XII. 


1  Save,  Jehovah,  for  the  godly  ceases, 

For  the  trusty  have  vanished  from  the  sons  of  men. 

2  They  speak  vanity  every  man  with  his  neighbour  ; 

[With]  smooth  lip  and  a  heart  and  a  heart  do  they  speak. 

3  May  Jehovah  cut  off  all  smooth  lips, 

The  tongue  that  speaks  proud  things, 

4  That  says,  To  our  tongues  we  give  strength  :  our  lips  arc  our  own 

(lit.  with  us) ; 

Who  is  lord  to  us? 

5  For  the  oppression  of  the  afflicted,  for  the  sighing  of  the  needy, 
Now  I  will  arise,  saith  Jehovah;  I  will  set  him  in  the  safety  he 

pants  for. 

6  The  words  of  Jehovah  are  pure  words, 

Silver  tried  in  a  furnace  [and  flowing  down]  to  the  ground,  purified 
seven  times. 

7  Thou,  Jehovah,  shalt  guard  them  ; 

Thou  shalt  preserve  him  from  this  generation  for  even 

8  All  around  the  wicked  swagger, 

When  vileness  is  set  on  high  among  the  sons  of  men. 


NE  penalty  of  living  near  God  is  keen  pain  front 


low  lives.  The  ears  that  hear  God's  word 
cannot  but  be  stunned  and  hurt  by  the  babble  of  empty 
speech.  This  psalm  is  profoundly  melancholy,  but 
without  trace  of  personal  affliction.  The  psalmist  is 
not  sad  for  himself,  but  sick  of  the  clatter  of  godless 
tongues,  in  which  he  discerns  the  outcome  of  godless 
lives.  His  plaint  wakes  echoes  in  hearts  touched  by 
the  love  of  God  and  the  visions  of  man’s  true  life.  It 


109 


1 10 


THE  PSALMS. 


passes  through  four  clearly  marked  stages,  each  con¬ 
sisting  of  two  verses  :  despondent  contemplation  of  the 
flood  of  corrupt  talk  which  seems  to  submerge  all 
(i,  2);  a  passionate  prayer  for  Divine  intervention, 
wrung  from  the  psalmist  by  the  miserable  spectacle 
(3,  4) ;  the  answer  to  that  cry  from  the  voice  of  God, 
with  the  rapturous  response  of  the  psalmist  to  it 
(5,  6) ;  and  the  confidence  built  on  the  Divine  word, 
which  rectifies  the  too  despondent  complaint  at  the 
beginning,  but  is  still  shaded  by  the  facts  which  stare 
him  in  the  face  (7,  8). 

The  cry  for  help  (Save,  LXX.)  abruptly  beginning 
the  psalm  tells  of  the  sharp  pain  from  which  it  comes,  v 
The  psalmist  has  been  brooding  over  the  black  out¬ 
look  till  his  overcharged  heart  relieves  itself  in  this 
single-worded  prayer.  As  he  looks  round  he  sees  no 
exceptions  to  the  prevailing  evil.  Like  Elijah,  he 
thinks  that  he  is  left  alone,  and  love  to  God  and  men 
and  reliableness  and  truth  are  vanished  with  their 
representatives.  No  doubt  in  all  such  despondent 
thoughts  about  the  rarity  of  Christian  charity  and 
of  transparent  truthfulness  there  is  an  element  of  exag¬ 
geration,  which  in  the  present  case  is,  as  we  shall  see, 
corrected  by  the  process  of  God-taught  meditation. 
But  the  clearer  the  insight  into  what  society  should  be, 
the  sadder  the  estimate  of  what  it  is.  Roseate  pictures 
of  it  augur  ill  for  the  ideal  which  their  painters  have. 
It  is  better  to  be  too  sensitive  to  evils  than  to  be  con¬ 
tented  with  them.  Unless  the  passionate  conviction 
of  the  psalmist  has  burned  itself  into  us,  we  shall 
but  languidly  work  to  set  things  right.  Heroes  and 
reformers  have  all  begun  with  “  exaggerated  estimates  ” 
of  corruption.  The  judgment  formed  of  the  moral 
state  of  this  or  of  any  generation  depends  on  the 


THE  PSALMS. 


in 


xii.] 


clearness  with  which  we  grasp  as  a  standard  the  ideal 
realised  in  Jesus  Christ  and  on  the  closeness  of  our 
communion  with  God. 

As  in  Psalm  v.,  sins  of  speech  are  singled  out,  and 
of  these  “  vanity  ”  and  u  smooth  lips  with  a  heart 
and  a  heart”  are  taken  as  typical.  As  in  Eph.  iv.  25, 
the  guilt  of  falsehood  is  deduced  from  the  bond  of 
neighbourliness,  which  it  rends.  The  sin,  to  which 
a  “  high  civilisation  ”  is  especially  prone,  of  saying 
pleasant  things  without  meaning  them,  seems  to  this 
moralist  as  grave  as  to  most  men  it  seems  slight.  Is 
the  psalmist  right  or  wrong  in  taking  speech  for  an 
even  more  clear  index  of  corruption  than  deeds  ? 
What  would  he  have  said  if  he  had  been  among  us, 
when  the  press  has  augmented  the  power  of  the  tongue, 
and  floods  of  “  vanity,”  not  only  in  the  form  of  actual 
lies,  but  of  inane  trivialities  and  nothings  of  personal 
gossip,  are  poured  over  the  whole  nation?  Surely,  if 
his  canon  is  right,  there  is  something  rotten  in  the 
state  of  this  land  ;  and  the  Babel  around  may  well  make 
good  men  sad  and  wise  men  despondent. 

Shall  we  venture  to  follow  the  psalmist  in  the  second 
turn  of  his  thoughts  (vv.  3,  4),  where  the  verb  at  the 
beginning  is  best  taken  as  an  optative  and  rendered, 
“  May  Jehovah  cut  off”  ?  The  deepest  meaning  of  his 
desire  every  true  man  will  take  for  his  own,  namely  the 
cessation  of  the  sin  ;  but  the  more  we  live  in  the  spirit 
of  Jesus,  the  more  we  shall  cherish  the  hope  that 
that  may  be  accomplished  by  winning  the  sinner. 
Better  to  have  the  tongue  touched  with  a  live  coal 
from  the  altar  than  cut  out.  In  the  one  case  there  is 
only  a  mute,  in  the  other  an  instrument  for  God’s 
praise.  But  the  impatience  of  evil  and  the  certainty 
that  God  can  subdue  it,  which  make  the  very  nerve  of 


THE  PSALMS. 


.112 

the  prayer,  should  belong  to  Christians  yet  more  than 
to  the  psalmist.  A  new  phase  of  sinful  speech  appears 
as  provoking  judgment  even  more  than  the  former  did. 
The  combination  of  flattery  and  boastfulness  is  not 
rare,  discordant  as  they  seem;  but  the  special  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  “proud  things”  spoken  is  that  they  are 
denials  of  responsibility  to  God  or  man  for  the  use  of 
lips  and  tongue.  Insolence  has  gone  far  when  it  has 
formulated  itself  into  definite  statements.  Twenty  men 
will  act  on  the  principle  for  one  who  will  put  it  into 
words.  The  conscious  adoption  and  cynical  avowal  of 
it  are  a  mark  of  defiance  of  God.  “To  our  tongues  we 
give  strength” — an  obscure  expression  which  may  be 
taken  in  various  shades  of  meaning,  eg.  as  =  We  have 
power  over,  or  =  Through,  or  as  to,  our  tongues  we  are 
strong,  or  =  We  will  give  effect  to  our  words.  Possibly 
it  stands  as  the  foundation  of  the  daring  defiance  in 
the  last  clause  of  the  verse,  and  asserts  that  the  speaker 
is  the  author  of  his  power  of  speech  and  therefore 
responsible  to  none  for  its  use.  “  Our  lips  are  with  us  ” 
may  be  a  further  development  of  the  same  godless 
thought.  “With  us”  is  usually  taken  to  mean  “our 
allies,”  or  confederates,  but  signifies  rather  “in  our 
possession,  to  do  as  we  will  with  them.”  “  Who  is  lord 
over  us  ?  ”  There  speaks  godless  insolence  shaking  off 
dependence,  and  asserting  shamelessly  licence  of  speech 
and  life,  unhindered  by  obligations  to  God  and  His  law. 

With  dramatic  swiftness  the  scene  changes  in  the 
next  pair  of  verses  (5,  6).  That  deep  voice,  which 
silences  all  the  loud  bluster,  as  the  lion’s  roar  hushes 
the  midnight  cries  of  lesser  creatures,  speaks  in  the 
waiting  soul  of  the  psalmist.  Like  Hezekiah  with 
Sennacherib’s  letter,  he  spreads  before  the  Lord  the 
“words  with  which  they  reproach  Thee,”  and,  like 


xii.]  THE  PSALMS.  113 

Hezekiah,  he  has  immediate  answer.  The  inward 
assurance  that  God  will  arise  is  won  by  prayer  at  once, 
and  changes  the  whole  aspect  of  the  facts  which  as  yet 
remain  unchanged.  The  situation  does  not  seem  so 
desperate  when  we  know  that  God  is  moving.  What¬ 
ever  delay  may  intervene  before  the  actual  Divine  act, 
there  is  none  before  the  assurance  of  it  calms  the  soul. 
Many  wintry  days  may  have  to  be  faced,  but  a  breath 
of  spring  has  been  in  the  air,  and  hope  revives.  The 
twofold  reason  which  rouses  the  Divine  activity  is  very 
strikingly  put  first  in  ver.  5.  Not  merely  the  “oppres¬ 
sion  or  spoiling  of  the  meek,”  but  that  conjoined  with 
the  “sighing  of  the  needy,”  bring  God  into  the  field. 
Not  affliction  alone,  but  affliction  which  impels  to 
prayer,  moves  Him  to  “stir  up  His  strength.”  “Now 
will  I  arise.”  That  solemn  “now”  marks  the  crisis, 
or  turning-point,  when  long  forbearance  ends  and  the 
crash  of  retribution  begins.  It  is  like  the  whirr  of 
the  clock  that  precedes  the  striking.  The  swiftly 
following  blow  will  ring  out  the  old  evil.  The  purpose 
of  God’s  intervention  is  the  safety  of  the  afflicted  who 
have  sighed  to  Him ;  but  while  that  is  clear,  the 
condensed  language  of  ver.  5  is  extremely  obscure. 
The  A.V.’s  rendering,  “I  will  set  him  in  safety  from 
him  that  puffeth  at  him,”  requires  a  too  liberal  use  of 
supplemental  words  to  eke  out  the  sense ;  and  the 
rendering  of  the  R.  V.  (margin),  “  the  safety  he  panteth 
for,”  is  most  congruous  with  the  run  of  the  sentence 
and  of  the  thought.  What  has  just  been  described 
as  a  sigh  is  now,  with  equal  naturalness,  figured  as  a 
pant  of  eager  desire.  The  former  is  the  expression 
of  the  weight  of  the  affliction,  the  latter  of  yearning 
to  escape  from  it.  The  latter  is  vain  waste  of 
breath  unless  accompanied  with  the  former,  which  is 

8 


THE  PSALMS . 


1 14 


also  a  prayer;  but  if  so  accompanied,  the  desire  01 
the  humble  soul  is  the  prophecy  of  its  own  fulfilment : 
and  the  measure  of  the  Divine  deliverance  is  regulated 
by  His  servant’s  longing.  He  will  always,  sooner  or 
later,  get  “the  safety  for  which  he  pants.”  Faith 
determines  the  extent  of  God’s  gift. 

The  listening  psalmist  rapturously  responds  in  ver. 
6  to  God’s  great  word.  That  word  stands,  with  strong 
force  of  contrast,  side  by  side  with  the  arrogant  chatter 
of  irresponsible  frivolity,  and  sounds  majestic  by  the 
side  of  the  shrill  feebleness  of  the  defiance.  Now 
the  psalmist  lifts  his  voice  in  trustful  acceptance  of  the 
oracle. 

The  general  sense  of  ver.  6  is  clear,  and  the 
metaphor  which  compares  God’s  words  to  refined  silver 
is  familiar,  but  the  precise  meaning  of  the  words 
rendered  “  in  a  furnace  on  the  earth  ”  (R.V.)  is  doubtful. 
The  word  for  “  furnace  ”  occurs  only  here,  and  has 
consequently  been  explained  in  very  different  ways,  is 
omitted  altogether  by  the  LXX.,  and  supposed  by 
Cheyne  to  be  a  remnant  of  an  ancient  gloss.  But  the 
meaning  of  furnace  or  crucible  is  fairly  made  out  and 
appropriate.  But  what  does  “  tried  in  a  furnace  to  the 
earth”  mean?  The  “on  the  earth”  of  the  R.V.  is 
scarcely  in  accordance  with  the  use  of  the  preposition 
“  to,”  and  the  best  course  is  to  adopt  a  supplement  and 
read  “  tried  in  a  furnace  [and  running  down]  to  the 
earth.”  The  sparkling  stream  of  molten  silver  as,  free 
from  dross,  it  runs  from  the  melting-pot  to  the  mould 
on  the  ground,  is  a  beautiful  figure  of  the  word  of 
God,  clear  of  all  the  impurities  of  men’s  words,  which 
the  psalm  has  been  bewailing  and  raining  down  on 
the  world.  God’s  words  are  a  silver  shower,  precious 
and  bright. 


THE  PSALMS. 


1*5 


xii.] 

The  last  turn  of  the  psalm  builds  hope  on  the  pure 
words  just  heard  from  heaven.  When  God  speaks  a 
promise,  faith  repeats  it  as  a  certitude  and  prophesies 
in  the  line  of  the  revelation.  “  Thou  shalt  ”  is  man’s 
answer  to  God’s  “  I  will.”  In  the  strength  of  the  Divine 
word,  the  despondency  of  the  opening  strain  is 
brightened.  The  godly  and  faithful  shall  not  “cease 
from  among  the  children  of  men,”  since  God  will  keep 
them ;  and  His  keeping  shall  preserve  them.  “  This 
generation  ”  describes  a  class  rather  than  an  epoch.  It 
means  the  vain  talkers  who  have  been  sketched  in  such 
dark  colours  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  psalm.  These 
are  “the  children  of  men”  among  whom  the  meek  and 
needy  are  to  live,  not  failing  before  them  because  God 
holds  them  up.  This  hope  is  for  the  militant  Church, 
whose  lot  is  to  stand  for  God  amidst  wide-flowing  evil, 
which  may  swell  and  rage  against  the  band  of  faithful 
ones,  but  cannot  sweep  them  away.  Not  of  victory  which 
annihilates  opposition,  but  of  charmed  lives  invulnerable 
in  conflict,  is  the  psalmist’s  confidence.  There  is  no 
more  lamenting  of  the  extinction  of  good  men  and  their 
goodness,  neither  is  there  triumphant  anticipation  of 
present  extinction  of  bad  men  and  their  badness,  but 
both  are  to  grow  together  till  the  harvest. 

But  even  the  pure  words  which  promise  safety  and 
wake  the  response  of  faith  do  not  wholly  scatter  the 
clouds.  The  psalm  recurs  very  pathetically  at  its  close 
to  the  tone  of  its  beginning.  Notice  the  repetition  of 
“the  children  of  men  ”  which  links  ver.  8  with  ver.  1. 
If  the  fear  that  the  faithful  should  fail  is  soothed  by 
God’s  promise  heard  by  the  psalmist  sounding  in  his 
soul,  the  hard  fact  of  dominant  evil  is  not  altered 
thereby.  That  “  vileness  is  set  on  high  among  the  sons 
of  men  ”  is  the  description  of  a  world  turned  upside  down. 


1 1 6 


THE  PSALMS. 


Beggars  are  on  horseback,  and  princes  walking.  The 
despicable  is  honoured,  and  corruption  is  a  recommenda¬ 
tion  to  high  position.  There  have  been  such  epochs 
of  moral  dissolution ;  and  there  is  always  a  drift  in  that 
direction,  which  is  only  checked  by  the  influence  of  the 
“faithful.”  If  “vileness  is  set  on  high  among  the  sons 
of  men,”  it  is  because  the  sons  of  men  prefer  it  to  the 
stern  purity  of  goodness.  A  corrupt  people  will  crown 
corrupt  men  and  put  them  aloft.  The  average  good¬ 
ness  of  the  community  is  generally  fairly  represented 

by  its  heroes,  rulers,  and  persons  to  whom  influence  is 

•• 

given  ;  and  when  such  topsy-turvydom  as  the  rule  of 
the  worst  is  in  fashion,  “the  wicked  walk  on  every 
side.”  Impunity  breeds  arrogance ;  and  they  swagger 
and  swell,  knowing  that  they  are  protected.  Impunity 
multiplies  the  number ;  and  on  every  side  they  swarm, 
like  vermin  in  a  dirty  house.  But  even  when  such  an 
outlook  saddens,  the  soul  that  has  been  in  the  secret 
place  of  the  Most  High  and  has  heard  the  words  of  His 
mouth  will  not  fall  into  pessimistic  despondency,  nor 
think  that  the  faithful  fail,  because  the  wicked  strut. 
When  tempted  to  wail,  “  I,  even  I  only,  am  left,”  such 
a  soul  will  listen  to  the  still  small  voice  that  tells  of 
seven  thousands  of  God’s  hidden  ones,  and  will  be  of 
good  cheer,  as  knowing  that  God’s  men  can  never 
cease  so  long  as  God  continues. 


PSALM  XIII. 


1  For  how  long,  Jehovah,  wilt  Thou  forget  me  for  ever? 

For  how  long  wilt  Thou  hide  Thy  face  from  me  ? 

2  For  how  long  shall  I  brood  on  schemes  (i.e.,  of  deliverance)  in  my 


soul, 


Trouble  in  my  heart  by  day? 

For  how  long  shall  my  foe  lift  himself  above  me  ? 

3  Look  hither,  answer  me,  Jehovah,  my  God  ; 

Lighten  mine  eyes,  lest  I  sleep  the  death, 

4  Lest  my  foe  say,  I  have  overcome  him, 

And  oppressors  exult  when  I  am  moved. 

5  But  as  for  me,  in  Thy  mercy  have  I  trusted ; 

Let  my  heart  exult  in  Thy  salvation : 

6  I  will  sing  to  Jehovah,  for  He  has  dealt  bountifully  with  me. 


HIS  little  psalm  begins  in  agitation,  and  ends  in 


X  calm.  The  waves  run  high  at  first,  but  swiftly 
sink  to  rest,  and  at  last  lie  peacefully  glinting  in  sun¬ 
shine.  It  falls  into  three  strophes,  of  which  the  first 
(vv.  I,  2)  is  the  complaint  of  endurance  strained  almost 
to  giving  way;  the  second  (vv.  3,  4)  is  prayer  which 
feeds  fainting  faith ;  and  the  third  (vv.  5,  6,  which  are 
one  in  the  Hebrew)  is  the  voice  of  confidence,  which,  in 
the  midst  of  trouble,  makes  future  deliverance  and 
praise  a  present  experience. 

However  true  it  is  that  sorrow  is  “  but  for  a  moment,” 
it  seems  to  last  for  an  eternity.  Sad  hours  are  leaden¬ 
footed,  and  joyful  ones  winged.  If  sorrows  passed  to 
our  consciousness  as  quickly  as  joys,  or  joys  lingered 
as  long  as  sorrows,  life  would  be  less  weary.  That 


ll7 


1 


1 1 8  THE  PSALMS. 


reiterated  “How  long  ?  ”  betrays  how  weary  it  was  to 
the  psalmist.  Very  significant  is  the  progress  of 
thought  in  the  fourfold  questioning  plaint,  which  turns 
first  to  God,  then  to  himself,  then  to  the  enemy.  The 
root  of  his  sorrow  is  that  God  seems  to  have  forgotten 
him ;  therefore  his  soul  is  full  of  plans  for  relief,  and 
the  enemy  seems  to  be  lifted  above  him.  The  “  sorrow 
of  the  world  ”  begins  with  the  visible  evil,  and  stops 
with  the  inward  pain ;  the  sorrow  which  betakes 
itself  first  to  God,  and  thinks  last  of  the  foe,  has  trust 
embedded  in  its  depths,  and  may  unblamed  use  words 
which  sound  like  impatience.  If  the  psalmist  had  not 
held  fast  by  his  confidence,  he  would  not  have  appealed 
to  God.  So  the  “  illogical  ”  combination  in  his  first  cry 
of  “  How  long  ?  ”  and  “for  ever”  is  not  to  be  smoothed 
away,  but  represents  vividly,  because  unconsciously, 
the  conflict  in  his  soul  from  the  mingling  of  the  assur¬ 
ance  that  God’s  seeming  forgetfulness  must  have  an 
end  and  the  dread  that  it  might  have  none.  Luther, 
who  had  trodden  the  dark  places,  understood  the 
meaning  of  the  cry,  and  puts  it  beautifully  when  he 
says  that  here  “hope  itself  despairs,  and  despair  }^et 
hopes,  and  only  that  unspeakable  groaning  is  audible 
with  which  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  moves  over  the  waters 
covered  with  darkness,  intercedes  for  us.”  The  psalmist 
is  tempted  to  forget  the  confidence  expressed  in  Psalm 
ix.  1 8  and  to  sink  to  the  denial  animating  the  wicked 
in  Psalms  x.,  xi.  The  heart  wrung  by  troubles  finds 
little  consolation  in  the  mere  intellectual  belief  in  a 
Divine  omniscience.  An  idle  remembrance  which  does 
not  lead  to  actual  help  is  a  poor  stay  for  such  a  time. 
No  doubt  the  psalmist  knew  that  forgetfulness  was 
impossible  to  God ;  but  a  God  who,  though  He  remem¬ 
bered,  did  nothing  for,  His  servant,  was  not  enough  for 


THE  PSALMS. 


•  •  •  -i 

xin.J 


1 19 


him,  nor  is  He  for  any  of  us.  Heart  and  flesh  cry  out 
for  active  remembrance ;  and,  however  clear  the  creed, 
the  tendency  of  long-continued  misery  will  be  to  tempt 
to  the  feeling  that  the  sufferer  is  forgotten.  It  takes 
much  grace  to  cling  fast  to  the  belief  that  He  thinks 
of  the  poor  suppliant  whose  cry  for  deliverance  is 
unanswered.  The  natural  inference  is  one  or  other 
of  the  psalmist’s  two  here  :  God  has  forgotten  or  has 
hidden  His  face  in  indifference  or  displeasure.  The 
Evangelist’s  profound  “  therefore  ”  is  the  corrective  of 
the  psalmist’s  temptation  :  “Jesus  loved”  the  three  sad 
ones  at  Bethany ;  “  when  therefore  He  heard  that  he 
was  sick,  He  abode  still  two  days  in  the  place  where 
He  was.” 

Left  alone,  without  God’s  help,  what  can  a  man  do 
but  think  and  think,  plan  and  scheme  to  weariness  all 
night  and  carry  a  heavy  heart  as  he  sees  by  daylight 
how  futile  his  plans  are  ?  Probably  “  by  night  ”  should 
be  supplied  in  ver.  2  a ;  and  the  picture  of  the  gnawing 
cares  and  busy  thoughts  which  banish  sleep  and  of  the 
fresh  burst  of  sorrow  on  each  new  morning  appeals  only 
too  well  to  all  sad  souls.  A  brother  laments  across  the 
centuries,  and  his  long-silent  wail  is  as  the  voice  of  our 
own  griefs.  The  immediate  visible  occasion  of  trouble 
appears  only  in  the  last  of  the  fourfold  cries.  God’s 
apparent  forgetfulness  and  the  psalmist’s  own  sub¬ 
jective  agitations  are  more  prominent  than  the  “  enemy  ” 
who  “lifts  himself  above  him.”  His  arrogant  airs  and 
oppression  would  soon  vanish  if  God  would  arise.  The 
insight  which  places  him  last  in  order  is  taught  by 
faith.  The  soul  stands  between  God  and  the  external 
world,  with  all  its  possible  calamities ;  and  if  the  relation 
with  God  is  right,  and  help  is  flowing  unbrokenly  from 
Him,  the  relation  to  the  world  will  quickly  come  right, 


120 


THE  PSALMS. 


and  the  soul  be  lifted  high  above  the  foe,  however  lofty 
he  be  or  think  himself. 

The  agitation  of  the  first  strophe  is  somewhat  stilled 
in  the  second,  in  which  the  stream  of  prayer  runs  clear 
without  such  foam,  as  the  impatient  questions  of  the  first 
part.  It  falls  into  four  clauses,  which  have  an  approxi¬ 
mate  correspondence  to  those  of  strophe  I.  “  Look 
hither,  answer  me,  Jehovah,  my  God.”  The  first 
petition  corresponds  to  the  hiding  of  God’s  face,  and 
perhaps  the  second,  by  the  law  of  inverted  parallelism, 
may  correspond  to  the  forgetting}  but  in  any  case  the 
noticeable  thing  is  the  swift  decisiveness  of  spring  with 
which  the  psalmist’s  faith  reaches  firm  ground  here. 
Mark  the  implied  belief  that  God’s  look  is  not  an  otiose 
gaze,  but  brings  immediate  act  answering  the  prayer ; 
mark  the  absence  of  copula  between  the  verbs,  giving 
force  to  the  prayer  and  swiftness  to  the  sequence  of 
Divine  acts ;  mark  the  outgoing  of  the  psalmist’s  faith 
in  the  addition  to  the  name  “Jehovah”  (as  in  ver.  i),  of 
the  personal  “  my  God,”  with  all  the  sweet  and  reverent 
appeal  hived  in  the  address.  The  third  petition, 
“Lighten  mine  eyes,”  is  not  for  illumination  of  vision, 
but  for  renewed  strength.  Dying  eyes  are  glazed ;  a 
sick  man’s  are  heavy  and  dull.  Returning  health 
brightens  them.  So  here  the  figure  of  sickness  threaten¬ 
ing  to  become  death  stands  for  trouble,  or  possibly  the 
“enemy”  is  a  real  foe  seeking  the  life,  as  will  be  the 
most  natural  interpretation  if  the  Davidic  origin  is 
maintained.  To  “sleep death”  is  a  forcible  compressed 
expression,  which  is  only  attenuated  by  being  completed. 
The  prayer  rests  upon  the  profound  conviction  that 
Jehovah  is  the  fountain  of  life,  and  that  only  by  His 
continual  pouring  of  fresh  vitality  into  a  man  can 
any  eyes  be  kept  from  death.  The  brightest  must  be 


THE  PSALMS. 


121 


xiii.] 

replenished  from  His  hand,  or  they  fail  and  become 
dim ;  the  dimmest  can  be  brightened  by  His  gift  of 
vigorous  health.  As  in  the  first  strophe  the  psalmist 
passed  from  God  to  self,  and  thence  to  enemies,  so  he 
does  in  the  second.  His  prayer  addresses  God;  its 
pleas  regard,  first,  himself,  and,  second,  his  foe.  How 
is  the  preventing  of  the  enemy’s  triumph  in  his  being 
stronger  than  the  psalmist  and  of  his  malicious  joy  over 
the  latter’s  misfortune  an  argument  with  God  to  help  ? 
It  is  the  plea,  so  familiar  in  the  Psalter  and  to  devout 
hearts,  that  God’s  honour  is  identified  with  His  servant’s 
deliverance,  a  true  thought,  and  one  that  may  reverently 
be  entertained  by  the  humblest  lover  of  God,  but  which 
needs  to  be  carefully  guarded.  We  must  make  very 
sure  that  God’s  cause  is  ours  before  we  can  be  sure  that 
ours  is  His ;  we  must  be  very  completely  living  for 
His  honour  before  we  dare  assume  that  His  honour 
is  involved  in  our  continuing  to  live.  As  Calvin  says, 
“  Cum  eo  nobis  communis  erit  hsec  precatio,  si  sub  Dei 
imperio  et  auspiciis  militamus.” 

The  storm  has  all  rolled  away  in  the  third  strophe, 
in  which  faith  has  triumphed  over  doubt  and  antici¬ 
pates  the  fulfilment  of  its  prayer.  It  begins  with  an 
emphatic  opposition  of  the  psalmist’s  personality  to 
the  foe  :  “  But  as  for  me  ” — however  they  may  rage — 

“  I  have  trusted  in  Thy  mercy.”  Because  he  has  thus 
trusted,  therefore  he  is  sure  that  that  mercy  will  work 
for  him  salvation  or  deliverance  from  his  present  peril. 
Anything  is  possible  rather  than  that  the  appeal  of 
faith  to  God’s  heart  of  love  should  not  be  answered. 
Whoever  can  say,  I  have  trusted,  has  the  right  to  say, 

I  shall  rejoice.  It  was  but  a  moment  ago  that  this  man 
had  asked,  How  long  shall  I  have  sorrow  in  my  heart  ? 
and  now  the  sad  heart  is  flooded  with  sudden  gladness 


122 


THE  PSALMS. 


Such  is  the  magic  of  faith,  which  can  see  an  unrisen 
light  in  the  thickest  darkness,  and  hear  the  birds  singing 
amongst  the  branches  even  while  the  trees  are  bare 
and  the  air  silent.  How  significant  the  contrast  of 
the  two  rejoicings  set  side  by  side  :  the  adversaries’ 
when  the  good  man  is  “  moved  ” ;  the  good  man’s  when 
God’s  salvation  establishes  him  in  his  place !  The 
closing  strain  reaches  forward  to  deliverance  not  yet 
accomplished,  and,  by  the  prerogative  of  trust,  calls 
things  that  are  not  as  though  they  were.  “  He  has 
dealt  bountifully  with  me  ” ;  so  says  the  psalmist  who 
had  begun  with  “  How  long  ?  ”  No  external-change  has 
taken  place ;  but  his  complaint  and  prayer  have  helped 
him  to  tighten  his  grasp  of  God,  and  have  transported 
him  into  the  certain  future  of  deliverance  and  praise. 
He  who  can  thus  say,  “  I  will  sing,”  when  the  hoped-for 
mercy  has  wrought  salvation,  is  not  far  off  singing  even 
while  it  tarries.  The  sure  anticipation  of  triumph  is 
triumph.  The  sad  minor  of  “  How  long  ?  ”  if  coming 
from  faithful  lips,  passes  into  a  jubilant  key,  which 
heralds  the  full  gladness  of  the  yet  future  songs  of 
deliverance. 


PSALM  XIV. 


1  The  fool  says  in  his  heart,  There  is  no  God  ; 

Thejr  corrupt ;  they  make  abominable  their  doings  ; 

There  is  no  one  doing  good. 

2  Jehovah  looketh  down  from  heaven  upon  the  sons  of  men 
To  see  if  there  is  any  having  discernment, 

Seeking  after  God. 

3  They  are  all  turned  aside :  together  they  are  become  putrid  ; 
There  is  no  one  doing  good, 

There  is  not  even  one.  • 

4  Do  they  not  know,  all  the  workers  of  iniquity, 

Who  devour  my  people  [as]  they  devour  bread  ? 

On  Jehovah  they  do  not  call. 

5  There  they  feared  a  [great]  fear, 

For  God  is  in  the  righteous  generation. 

6  The  counsel  of  the  afflicted  ye  would  put  to  shame, 

For  God  is  his  refuge. 

7  Oh  that  the  salvation  of  Israel  were  come  out  of  Zion  ! 

When  Jehovah  brings  back  the  captivity  of  His  people, 

May  Jacob  exult,  may  Israel  be  glad  ! 

THIS  psalm  springs  from  the  same  situation  as 
Psalms  x.  and  xii.  It  has  several  points  of  like¬ 
ness  to  both.  It  resembles  the  former  in  its  attribution 
to  “the  fool”  of  the  heart-speech,  “There  is  no  God,” 
and  the  latter  in  its  use  of  the  phrases  “  sons  of  men  ” 
and  “  generation  ”  as  ethical  terms  and  in  its  thought 
of  a  Divine  interference  as  the  source  of  safety  for  the 
righteous.  We  have  thus  three  psalms  closely  connected, 
but  separated  from  each  other  by  Psalms  xi.  and  xiii. 

123 


124 


THE  PSALMS. 


Now  it  is  observable  that  these  three  have  no  personal 
references,  and  that  the  two  which  part  them  have.  It 
would  appear  that  the  five  are  arranged  on  the  principle 
of  alternating  a  general  complaint  of  the  evil  of  the 
times  with  a  more  personal  pleading  of  an  individual 
sufferer.  It  is  also  noticeable  that  these  five  psalms — 
a  little  group  of  wailing  and  sighs — are  marked  off  from 
the  cognate  psalms  iii.-vii.  and  xvi.,  xvii.,  by  two  (Psalms 
viii.  and  xv.)  in  an  entirely  different  tone.  A  second 
recast  of  this  psalm  appears  in  the  Elohistic  Book 
(Psalm  liii.),  the  characteristics  of  which  will  be  dealt 
with  there.  This  is  probably  the  original. 

The  structure  of  the  psalm  is  simple,  but  is  not 
carried  out  completely.  It  should  consist  of  seven 
verses  each  having  three  clauses,  and  so  having  stamped 
on  it  the  sacred  numbers  3  and  7,  but  vv.  5  and  6 
each  want  a  clause,  and  are  the  more  vehement  from 
their  brevity. 

The  heavy  fact  of  wide-spread  corruption  presses 
on  the  psalmist,  and  starts  a  train  of  thought  which 
begins  with  a  sad  picture  of  the  deluge  of  evil,  rises 
to  a  vision  of  God’s  judgment  of  and  on  it,  triumphs 
in  the  prospect  of  the  sudden  panic  which  shall  shake 
the  souls  of  the  “  workers  of  iniquity  ”  when  they  see 
that  God  is  with  the  righteous,  and  ends  with  a  sigh 
for  the  coming  of  that  time.  The  staple  of  the  poem 
is  but  the  familiar  contrast  of  a  corrupt  world  and  a 
righteous  God  who  judges,  but  it  is  cast  into  very 
dramatic  and  vivid  form  here. 

We  listen  first  (ver.  1)  to  the  psalmist’s  judgment  of 
his  generation.  Probably  it  was  very  unlike  the  rosy 
hues  in  which  a  heart  less  in  contact  with  God  and  the 
unseen  would  have  painted  the  condition  of  things. 
Eras  of  great  culture  and  material  prosperity  may  have 


xiv.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


125 


a  very  seamy  side,  which  eyes  accustomed  to  the  light 
of  God  cannot  fail  to  see.  The  root  of  the  evil  lay,  as 
the  psalmist  believed,  in  a  practical  denial  of  God ;  and 
whoever  thus  denied  Him  was  “a  fool.”  It  does  not 
need  formulated  atheism  in  order  to  say  in  one’s  heart, 
“  There  is  no  God.”  Practical  denial  or  neglect  of  His 
working  in  the  world,  rather  than  a  creed  of  negation, 
is  in  the  psalmist’s  mind.  In  effect,  we  say  that  there 
is  no  God  when  we  shut  Him  up  in  a  far-off  heaven, 
and  never  think  of  Him  as  concerned  in  our  affairs. 
To  strip  Him  of  His  justice  and  rob  Him  of  His  control 
is  the  part  of  a  fool.  For  the  Biblical  conception  of 
folly  is  moral  perversity  rather  than  intellectual  feeble¬ 
ness,  and  whoever  is  morally  and  religiously  wrong 
cannot  be  in  reality  intellectually  right. 

The  practical  denial  of  God  lies  at  the  root  of 
two  forms  of  evil.  Positively,  “Jhey  have  made  their 
doings  corrupt  and  abominable  ” — rotten  in  themselves 
and  sickening  and  loathsome  to  pure  hearts  and  to 
God.  Negatively,  the}'  do  no  good  things.  That  is 
the  dreary  estimate  of  his  cotemporaries  forced  on 
this  sad-hearted  singer,  because  he  himself  had  so  thrill- 
ingly  felt  God’s  touch  and  had  therefore  been  smitten 
with  loathing  of  men’s  low  ways  and  with  a  passion 
for  goodness.  “  Sursum  corda  ”  is  the  only  consolation 
for  such  hearts. 

So  the  next  wave  of  thought  (ver.  2)  brings  into  his 
consciousness  the  solemn  contrast  between  the  godless 
noise  and  activity  of  earth  and  the  silent  gaze  of  God, 
that  marks  it  all.  The  strong  anthropomorphism  of 
the  vivid  picture  recalls  the  stories  of  the  Deluge,  of 
Babel,  and  of  Sodom,  and  casts  an  emotional  hue  over 
the  abstract  thought  of  the  Divine  omniscience  and 
observance.  The  purpose  of  the  Divine  quest  is  set 


THE  PSALMS. 


12b 


forth  with  deep  insight,  as  being  the  finding  of  even 
one  good,  devout  man.  It  is  the  anticipation  of  Christ’s 
tender  word  to  the  Samaritan  that  “the  Father  seeketh 
such  to  worship  Him.”  God’s  heart  yearns  to  find 
hearts  that  turn  to  Him ;  He  seeks  those  who  seek 
Him;  they  who  seek  Him,  and  only  they,  are  “wise.” 
Other  Scriptures  present  other  reasons  for  that  gaze 
of  God  from  heaven,  but  this  one  in  the  midst  of  its 
solemnity  is  gracious  with  revelation  of  Divine  desires. 

What  is  to  be  the  issue  of  the  strongly  contrasted 
situation  in  these  two  verses  :  beneath,  a  world  full  of 
godless  lawlessness ;  above,  a  fixed  eye  piercing  to  the 
discernment  of  the  inmost  nature  of  actions  and  cha¬ 
racters  ?  Ver.  3  answers.  We  may  almost  venture 
to  say  that  it  shows  a  disappointed  God,  so  sharply 
does  it  put  the  difference  between  what  He  desired  to 
see  and  what  He  did  see.  The  psalmist’s  sad  estimate 
is  repeated  as  the  result  of  the  Divine  search.  But  it 
is  also  increased  in  emphasis  and  in  compass.  For 
“the  whole”  (race)  is  the  subject.  Universality  is 
insisted  on  in  each  clause ;  “  all,”  “  together,”  “  not 
one,”  and  strong  metaphors  are  used  to  describe  the 
condition  of  humanity.  It  is  “turned  aside,”  i.e.}  from 
the  way  of  Jehovah ;  it  is  become  putrid,  like  a  rotting 
carcase,  is  rank,  and  smells  to  heaven.  There  is  a  sad 
cadence  in  that  “  no,  not  one,”  as  of  a  hope  long 
cherished  and  reluctantly  abandoned,  not  without  some 
tinge  of  wonder  at  the  barren  results  of  such  a  search. 
This  stern  indictment  is  quoted  by  St.  Paul  in  Romans 
as  confirmation  of  his  thesis  of  universal  sinfulness ; 
and,  however  the  psalmist  had  the  wickedness  of  Israel 
in  the  foreground  of  his  consciousness,  his  language  is 
studiously  wide  and  meant  to  include  all  “the  sons 
of  men.” 


THE  PSALMS. 


127 


xiv.] 


But  this  baffled  quest  cannot  be  the  end.  If  Jehovah 
seeks  in  vain  for  goodness  on  earth,  earth  cannot  go 
on  for  ever  in  godless  riot.  Therefore,  with  eloquent 
abruptness,  the  voice  from  heaven  crashes  in  upon 
the  “  fools  ”  in  the  full  career  of  their  folly.  The 
thunder  rolls  from  a  clear  sky.  God  speaks  in  ver.  4. 
The  three  clauses  of  the  Divine  rebuke  roughly  corre¬ 
spond  with  those  of  ver.  1  in  so  far  as  the  first  points 
to  ignorance  as  the  root  of  wrong-doing,  the  second 
charges  positive  sin,  and  the  third  refers  to  negative 
evil.  “  Have  all  the  workers  of  iniquity  no  know¬ 
ledge  ?  ”  The  question  has  almost  a  tone  of  surprise,  as 

if  even  Omniscience  found  matter  of  wonder  in  men’s 

✓ 

mysterious  love  of  evil.  Jesus  “  marvelled  ”  at  some 
men’s  “unbelief”;  and  certainly  sin  is  the  most  inex¬ 
plicable  thing  in  the  world,  and  might  almost  astonish 
God  as  well  as  heaven  and  earth.  The  meaning  of  the 
word  “  know”  here  is  best  learned  from  ver.  1.  “  Not 

to  know  ”  is  the  same  thing  as  to  be  “  a  fool.”  That 
ignorance,  which  is  moral  perversity  as  well  as  intel¬ 
lectual  blindness,  needs  not  to  have  a  special  object 
stated.  Its  thick  veil  hides  all  real  knowledge  of  God, 
duty,  and  consequences  from  men.  It  makes  evil-doing 
possible.  If  the  evil-doer  could  have  flashed  before 
him  the  realities  of  things,  his  hand  would  stay  its 
crime.  It  is  not  true  that  all  sin  can  be  resolved  into 
ignorance,  but  it  is  true  that  criminal  ignorance  is 
necessary  to  make  sin  possible.  A  bull  shuts  its  eyes 
when  it  charges.  Men  who  do  wrong  are  blind  in  one 
eye  at  least,  for,  if  they  saw  at  the  moment  what  they 
probably  know  well  enough,  sin  would  be  impossible. 

This  explanation  of  the  words  seems  more  congruous 
with  ver.  I  than  that  of  others,  “  made  to  know,”  i.e. 
by  experience  to  rue. 


128 


THE  PSALMS. 


Ver.  4  b  is  obscure  from  its  compressed  brevity 
“  Eating  my  people,  they  eat  bread.”  The  A.V. 
and  R.V.  take  their  introduction  of  the  “as”  of  com¬ 
parison  from  the  old  translations.  The  Hebrew  has 
no  term  of  comparison,  but  it  is  not  unusual  to 
omit  the  formal  term  in  rapid  and  emotional  speech, 
and  the  picture  of  the  appetite  with  which  a  hungry 
man  devours  his  food  may  well  stand  for  the  relish 
with  which  the  oppressors  swallowed  up  the  innocent. 
There  seems  no  need  for  the  ingenuities  which  have 
been  applied  to  the  interpretation  of  the  clause,  nor  for 
departing,  with  Cheyne,  from  the  division  of  the  verse 
according  to  the  accents.  The  positive  sins  of  the 
oppressors,  of  which  we  have  heard  so  much  in  the 
connected  psalms,  are  here  concentrated  in  their  cruel 
plundering  of  “  my  people,”  by  which  the  whole  strain 
of  the  psalm  leads  us  to  understand  the  devout  kernel 
of  Israel,  in  contrast  with  the  mass  of  “  men  of  the 
earth  ”  in  the  nation,  and  not  the  nation  as  a  whole  in 
contrast  with  heathen  enemies. 

The  Divine  indictment  is  completed  by  “  They  call 
not  on  Jehovah.”  Practical  atheism  is,  of  course, 
prayerless.  That  negation  makes  a  dreary  silence  in 
the  noisiest  life,  and  is  in  one  aspect  the  crown,  and 
in  another  the  foundation,  of  all  evil-doing. 

The  thunder-peal  of  the  Divine  voice  strikes  a 
sudden  panic  into  the  hosts  of  evil.  “There  they 
feared  a  fear.”  The  psalmist  conceives  the  scene  and 
its  locality.  He  does  not  say  “there”  when  he  means 
“  then,”  but  he  pictures  the  terror  seizing  the  oppressors 
where  they  stood  when  the  Divine  thunder  rolled 
above  their  heads;  and  with  him,  as  with  us,  “on  the 
spot”  implies  “at  the  moment.”  The  epoch  of  such 
panic  is  left  vague.  Whensoever  in  any  man’s  experi- 


xiv.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


129 


ence  that  solemn  voice  sounds,  conscience  wakes  fear. 
The  revelation  by  any  means  of  a  God  who  sees  evil 
and  judges  it  makes  cowards  of  us  all.  Probably  the 
psalmist  thought  of  some  speedily  impending  aet  of 
judgment;  but  his  juxtaposition  of  the  two  facts,  the 
audible  voice  of  God  and  the  swift  terror  that  shakes 
the  heart,  contains  an  eternal  truth,  which  men  who 
whisper  in  their  hearts,  “There  is  no  God,”  need  to 
ponder. 

This  verse  5  is  the  first  of  the  two  shorter  verses  of 
our  psalm,  containing  only  two  clauses  instead  of  the 
regular  three ;  but  it  does  not  therefore  follow  that 
anything  has  dropped  out.  Rather  the  framework  is 
sufficiently  elastic  to  allow  of  such  variation  according 
to  the  contents,  and  the  shorter  verse  is  not  without 
a  certain  increase  of  vigour,  derived  from  the  sharp 
opposition  of  its  two  clauses.  On  the  one  hand  is  the 
terror  of  the  sinner  occasioned  by  and  contrasted  with 
the  discovery  which  stands  on  the  other  that  God  is  in 
the  righteous  generation.  The  psalmist  sets  before 
himself  and  us  the  two  camps  :  the  panic-stricken  and 
confused  mass  of  enemies  ready  to  break  into  flight 
and  the  little  flock  of  the  “  righteous  generation,”  at 
peace  in  the  midst  of  trouble  and  foes  because  God 
is  in  the  midst  of  them.  No  added  clause  could 
heighten  the  effect  of  that  contrast,  which  is  like  that 
of  the  host  of  Israel  walking  in  light  and  safety  on  one 
side  of  the  fiery  pillar  and  the  army  of  Pharaoh  groping 
in  darkness  and  dread  on  the  other.  The  permanent 
relations  of  God  to  the  two  sorts  of  men  who  are 
found  in  every  generation  and  community  are  set  forth 
in  that  strongly  marked  contrast. 

In  ver.  6  the  psalmist  himself  addresses  the  op¬ 
pressors,  with  triumphant  confidence  born  of  his 


130 


THE  PSALMS. 


previous  contemplations.  The  first  clause  might  be  a 
question,  but  is  more  probably  a  taunting  affirmation : 
“You  would  frustrate  the  plans  of  the  afflicted” — 
and  you  could  not — “for  Jehovah  is  his  refuge.”  Here 
again  the  briefer  sentence  brings  out  the  eloquent 
contrast.  The  malicious  foe,  seeking  to  thwart  the 
poor  man’s  plans,  is  thwarted.  His  desire  is  unaccom¬ 
plished  ;  and  there  is  but  one  explanation  of  the 
impotence  of  the  mighty  and  the  powerfulness  of  the 
weak,  namely  that  Jehovah  is  the  stronghold  of  His 
saints.  Not  by  reason  of  his  own  wit  or  power  does 
the  afflicted  baffle  the  oppressor,  but  by  reason  of 
the  strength  and  inaccessibleness  of  his  hiding-place. 
“The  conies  are  a  feeble  folk,  but  they  make  their 
houses  in  the  rocks,”  where  nothing  that  has  not 
wings  can  get  at  them. 

So,  finally,  the  whole  course  of  thought  gathers  itself 
up  in  the  prayer  that  the  salvation  of  Israel — the  true 
Israel  apparently — were  come  out  of  Zion,  God’s  dwelling, 
from  which  He  comes  forth  in  His  delivering  power 
The  salvation  longed  for  is  that  just  described.  The 
voice  of  the  oppressed  handful  of  good  men  in  an  evil 
generation  is  heard  in  this  closing  prayer.  It  is 
encouraged  by  the  visions  which  have  passed  before 
the  psalmist.  The  assurance  that  God  will  intervene 
is  the  very  life-breath  of  the  cry  to  Him  that  He  would. 
Because  we  know  that  He  will  deliver,  therefore  we 
find  it  in  our  hearts  to  pray  that  He  would  deliver. 
The  revelation  of  His  gracious  purposes  animates  the 
longings  for  their  realisation.  Such  a  sigh  of  desire  has 
no  sadness  in  its  longing  and  no  doubt  in  its  expecta¬ 
tion.  It  basks  in  the  light  of  an  unrisen  sun,  and  feels 
beforehand  the  gladness  of  the  future  joys  “  when  the 
Lord  shall  bring  again  the  captivity  pf  His  people,” 


xiv.]  THE  PSALMS.  131 

This  last  verse  is  by  some  regarded  as  a  liturgical 
addition  to  the  psalm ;  but  ver.  6  cannot  be  the 
original  close,  and  it  is  scarcely  probable  that  some 
other  ending  has  been  put  aside  to  make  room  for  this. 
Besides,  the  prayer  of  ver.  7  coheres  very  naturally 
with  the  rest  of  the  psalm,  if  only  we  take  that  phrase 
“  turns  the  captivity  ”  in  the  sense  which  it  admittedly 
bears  in  Job  xlii.  10  and  Ezek.  xvi.  53,  namely 
that  of  deliverance  from  misfortune.  Thus  almost  all 
modern  interpreters  understand  the  words,  and  even 
those  who  most  strongly  hold  the  late  date  of  the 
psalm  do  not  find  here  any  reference  to  the  historical 
bondage.  The  devout  kernel  of  the  nation  is  suffering 
from  oppressors,  and  that  may  well  be  called  a  captivity. 
For  a  good  man  the  present  condition  of  society  is 
bondage,  as  many  a  devout  soul  has  felt  since  the 
psalmist  did.  But  there  is  a  dawning  hope  of  a  better 
day  of  freedom,  the  liberty  of  the  glory  of  the  children 
of  God  ;  and  the  gladness  of  the  ransomed  captives  may 
be  in  some  degree  anticipated  even  now.  The  psalmist 
was  thinking  only  of  some  intervention  on  the  field  of 
history,  and  we  are  not  to  read  loftier  hopes  into  his 
song.  But  it  is  as  impossible  for  Christians  not  to 
entertain,  as  it  was  for  him  to  grasp  firmly,  the  last, 
mightiest  hope  of  a  last,  utter  deliverance  from  all  evil 
and  of  an  eternal  and  perfect  joy. 


PSALM  XV. 


1  Jehovah,  who  can  be  guest  in  Thy  tent  ? 

Who  can  dwell  in  Thy  holy  hill  ? 

2  The  man  walking  blamelessly,  and  doing  righteousness, 

And  speaking  truth  with  his  heart. 

3  He  has  not  slander  on  his  tongue, 

He  does  not  harm  to  his  comrade, 

And  reproach  he  does  not  lay  on  his  neighbour. 

4  A  reprobate  is  despised  in  his  eyes, 

But  the  fearers  of  Jehovah  he  honours  ; 

He  swears  to  his  own  hurt,  and  will  not  change. 

5  His  silver  he  does  not  give  at  usury, 

And  a  bribe  against  the  innocent  he  does  not  take ; 

He  that  does  these  things  shall  not  be  moved  for  ever. 

HE  ideal  worshipper  of  Jehovah  is  painted  in  this 


_L  psalm  in  a  few  broad  outlines.  Zion  is  holy 
because  God’s  “tent”  is  there.  This  is  the  only  hint 
of  date  given  by  the  psalm ;  and  all  that  can  be  said  is 
that,  if  that  consecration  of  Thy  hill  was  recent,  the  poet 
would  naturally  ponder  all  the  more  deeply  the  question 
of  who  were  fit  to  dwell  in  the  new  solemnities  of  the 
abode  of  Jehovah.  The  tone  of  the  psalm,  then,  accords 
with  the  circumstances  of  the  time  when  David 
brought  the  ark  to  Jerusalem ;  but  more  than  this 
cannot  be  affirmed.  Much  more  important  are  its  two 
main  points  :  the  conception  of  the  guests  of  Jehovah 
and  the  statement  of  the  ethical  qualifications  of  these. 

As  to  structure,  the  psalm  is  simple.  It  has,  first, 


XV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


133 


the  general  question  and  answer  in  two  verses  of  two 
clauses  each  (vv.  1,  2).  Then  the  general  description 
of  the  guest  of  God  is  expanded  in  three  verses  of 
three  clauses  each,  the  last  of  which  closes  with  an 
assurance  of  stability,  which  varies  and  heightens  the 
idea  of  dwelling  in  the  tent  of  Jehovah. 

It  is  no  mere  poetic  apostrophe  with  which  the 
psalmist’s  question  is  prefaced.  He  does  thereby  con¬ 
sult  the  Master  of  the  house  as  to  the  terms  on  which 
He  extends  hospitality,  which  terms  it  is  His  right  to 
prescribe.  He  brings  to  his  own  view  and  to  his 
readers’  all  that  lies  in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  the 
covenant  name,  and  all  that  is  meant  by  “  holiness,” 
and  thence  draws  the  answer  to  his  question,  which  is 
none  the  less  Jehovah’s  answer  because  it  springs  in 
the  psalmist’s  heart  and  is  spoken  by  his  lips.  The 
character  of  the  God  determines  the  character  of  the 
worshipper.  The  roots  of  ethics  are  in  religion.  The 
Old  Testament  ideal  of  the  righteous  man  flows  from 
its  revelation  of  the  righteous  God.  Not  men’s  own 
fancies,  but  insight  gained  by  communion  with  God 
and  docile  inquiry  of  Him,  will  reliably  tell  what 
manner  of  men  they  are  who  can  abide  in  His  light. 

The  thought,  expressed  so  forcibly  in  the  question  of 
the  psalm,  that  men  may  be  God’s  guests,  is  a  very  deep 
and  tender  one,  common  to  a  considerable  number  of 
psalms  (v.  5,  xxvii.  4,  lxxxiv.  5,  etc.).  The  word  trans¬ 
lated  “  abide  ”  in  the  A.V.  and  “  sojourn  ”  in  the  R.V. 
originally  implied  a  transient  residence  as  a  stranger, 
but  when  applied  to  men’s  relations  to  God,  it  does  not 
always  preserve  the  idea  of  transiency  (see,  for  instance, 
lxi.  4 :  “I  will  dwell  in  Thy  tent  for  ever  ”) ;  and  the 
idea  of  protection  is  the  most  prominent.  The  stranger 
who  took  refuge  in  the  tent  even  of  the  wild  Beduin 


*34 


THE  PSALMS. 


was  sale,  much  more  the  happy  man  who  crept  under 
the  folds  of  the  tent  of  Jehovah.  If  the  holy  hill  of 
Zion  were  not  immediately  mentioned,  one  might  be 
tempted  to  think  that  the  tent  here  was  only  used  as 
a  metaphor;  but  the  juxtaposition  of  the  two  things 
seems  to  set  the  allusion  to  the  dwelling-place  of  the 
Ark  on  its  hill  beyond  question.  In  the  gracious 
hospitality  of  the  antique  world,  a  guest  was  sheltered 
from  all  harm ;  his  person  was  inviolable,  his  wants  all 
met.  So  the  guest  of  Jehovah  is  safe,  can  claim 
asylum  from  every  foe  and  a  share  in  all  the  bountiful 
provision  of  His  abode.  Taken  accurately,  the  two 
verbs  in  ver.  I  differ  in  that  the  first  implies  transient 
and  the  second  permanent  abode ;  but  that  difference  is 
not  in  the  psalmist’s  mind,  and  the  two  phrases  mean 
the  same  thing,  with  only  the  difference  that  the  former 
brings  out  his  conception  of  the  rights  of  the  guest. 
Clearly,  then,  the  psalmist’s  question  by  no  means 
refers  only  to  an  outward  approach  to  an  outward 
tabernacle  ;  but  we  see  here  the  symbol  in  the  very 
act  of  melting  into  the  deep  spiritual  reality  signified. 
The  singer  has  been  educated  by  the  husks  of  ritual 
to  pass  beyond  these,  and  has  learned  that  there  is 
a  better  dwelling-place  for  Jehovah,  and  therefore  for 
himself,  than  that  pitched  on  Zion  and  frequented  by 
impure  and  pure  alike. 

Ver.  2  sums  the  qualifications  of  Jehovah’s  guest  in 
one  comprehensive  demand,  that  he  should  walk  up¬ 
rightly,  and  then  anatyses  that  requirement  into  the  two 
of  righteous  deeds  and  truthful  speech.  The  verbs  are 
in  the  participial  form,  which  emphasises  the  notion  of 
habitual  action.  The  general  answer  is  expanded  in 
the  three  following  verses,  which  each  contain  three 
clauses,  and  take  up  the  two  points  of  ver.  2  in  inverted 


XV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


135 

order,  although  perhaps  not  with  absolute  accuracy  of 
arrangement.  The  participial  construction  is  in  them 
changed  for  finite  verbs.  Ver.  2  sketches  the  figure 
in  outline,  and  the  rest  of  the  psalm  adds  clause  on 
clause  of  description  as  if  the  man  stood  before  the 
psalmist’s  vision.  Habits  are  described  as  acts. 

The  first  outstanding  characteristic  of  this  ideal  is 
that  it  deals  entirely  with  duties  to  men,  and  the  second 
is  that  it  is  almost  wholly  negative.  Moral  qualities 
of  the  most  obvious  kind,  and  such  as  can  be  tested 
in  daily  life  and  are  cultivated  by  rigid  abstinence  from 
prevailing  evils,  and  not  any  recondite  and  impalpable 
refinements  of  conduct,  still  less  any  peculiar  emotions 
of  souls  raised  high  above  the  dusty  levels  of  common 
life,  are  the  qualifications  for  dwelling,  a  guarded  guest, 
in  that  great  pavilion.  Such  a  stress  laid  on  homely 
duties,  which  the  universal  conscience  recognises,  is 
characteristic  of  the  ethics  of  the  Old  Testament  as  a 
whole  and  of  the  Psalter  in  particular,  and  is  exemplified 
in  the  lives  of  its  saints  and  heroes.  They  “  come  eating 
and  drinking,”  sharing  in  domestic  joys  and  civic  duties  ; 
and  however  high  their  aspirations  and  vows  may  soar, 
they  have  always  their  feet  firmly  planted  on  the  ground 
and,  laying  the  smallest  duties  on  themselves,  “tread 
life’s  common  road  in  cheerful  godliness.”  The  Chris¬ 
tian  answer  to  the  psalmist’s  question  goes  deeper  than 
his,  but  is  fatally  incomplete  unless  it  include  his  and 
lay  the  same  stress  on  duties  to  men  which  all  acknow¬ 
ledge,  as  that  does.  Lofty  emotions,  raptures  of  com¬ 
munion,  aspirations  winch  bring  their  own  fulfilment, 
and  all  the  experiences  of  the  devout  soul,  which  are 
sometimes  apt  to  be  divorced  from  plain  morality,  need 
the  ballast  of  the  psalmist’s  homely  answer  to  the  great 
question.  There  is  something  in  a  religion  of  emotion 


1 


136  THE  PSALMS. 

not  wholly  favourable  to  the  practice  of  ordinary  duties ; 
and  many  men,  good  after  a  fashion,  seem  to  have  their 
spiritual  nature  divided  into  water-tight  and  uncom¬ 
municating  compartments,  in  one  of  W’hich  they  keep 
their  religion,  and  in  the  other  their  morality. 

The  stringent  assertion  that  these  two  are  inseparable 
was  the  great  peculiarity  of  Judaism  as  compared  with 
the  old  world  religions,  from  which,  as  from  the  heathen¬ 
ism  of  to-day,  the  conception  that  religion  had  anything 
to  do  with  conduct  was  absent.  But  it  is  not  only 
heathenism  that  needs  the  reminder. 

True,  the  ideal  drawn  here  is  not  the  full  Christian 
one.  It  is  too  merely  negative  for  that,  and  too  entirely 
concerned  with  acts.  Therein  it  reproduces  the  limita¬ 
tions  of  the  earlier  revelation.  It  scarcely  touches  at 
all  the  deeper  forms  of  “love  to  our  neighbour”;  and, 
above  all,  it  has  no  answer  to  the  question  which 
instinctively  rises  in  the  heart  when  the  psalm  has 
answered  its  own  question.  How  can  I  attain  to  these 
qualifications  ?  is  a  second  interrogation,  raised  by  the 
response  to  the  first,  and  for  its  answer  we  have  to 
turn  to  Jesus.  The  psalm,  like  the  law  which  inspired 
it,  is  mainly  negative,  deals  mainly  with  acts,  and  has 
no  light  to  show  how  its  requirements  may  be  won. 
But  it  yet  stands  as  an  unantiquated  statement  of  what 
a  man  must  be  who  dwells  in  the  secret  place  of  the 
Most  High.  How  he  may  become  such  a  one  we 
must  learn  from  Him  who  both  teaches  us  the  way, 
and  gives  us  the  power,  to  become  such  as  God  will 
shelter  in  the  safe  recesses  of  His  pavilion. 

The  details  of  the  qualifications  as  described  in  the 
psalm  are  simple  and  homely.  They  relate  first  to 
right  speech,  which  holds  so  prominent  a  place  in  the 
ethics  of  the  Psalter.  The  triplets  of  ver.  3  probably 


THE  PSALMS. 


137 


xv.] 

all  refer  to  sins  of  the  tongue.  The  good  man  has  no 
slander  on  his  tongue ;  he  does  not  harm  his  companion 
(by  word)  nor  heap  reproach  on  his  neighbour.  These 
things  are  the  staple  of  much  common  talk.  What  a 
quantity  of  brilliant  wit  and  polished  sarcasm  would 
perish  if  this  rule  were  observed  1  How  dull  many 
sparkling  circles  would  become,  and  how  many  columns 
of  newspapers  and  pages  of  books  would  be  obliterated, 
if  the  censor’s  pencil  struck  out  all  that  infringed  it ! 
Ver.  4  adds  as  characteristic  of  a  righteous  man  that 
in  his  estimate  of  character  he  gives  each  his  own,  and 
judges  men  by  no  other  standard  than  their  moral 
worth.  The  reprobate  may  be  a  millionaire  or  a  prince, 
but  his  due  is  contempt ;  the  devout  man  may  be  a 
pauper  or  one  of  narrow  culture,  but  his  due  is  respect, 
and  he  gets  it.  “A  terrible  sagacity  informs  ”  the 
good  man’s  heart ;  and  he  who  is,  in  his  own  inmost 
desires,  walking  uprightly  will  not  be  seduced  into 
adulation  of  a  popular  idol  who  is  a  bad  man,  nor 
turned  from  reverence  for  lowly  goodness.  The  world 
will  be  a  paradise  when  the  churl  is  no  more  called 
bountiful. 

Apparently  the  utterance  of  these  estimates  is  in  the 
psalmist’s  mind,  and  he  is  still  thinking  of  speech. 
Neither  calumny  (ver.  3)  nor  the  equally  ignoble 
flattery  of  evil-doers  (ver.  4)  pollutes  the  lips  of  his 
ideal  good  man.  If  this .  reference  to  spoken  estimates 
is  allowed,  the  last  clause  of  ver.  4  completes  the 
references  to  the  right  use  of  speech.  The  obligation 
of  speaking  “  truth  with  his  heart  ”  is  pursued  into  a 
third  region  :  that  of  vows  or  promises.  These  must 
be  conceived  as  not  religious  vows,  but,  in  accordance 
with  the  reference  of  the  whole  psalm  to  duties  to 
neighbours,  as  oaths  made  to  men.  They  must  be 


138 


THE  PSALMS. 


kept,  whatever  consequences  may  ensue.  The  law 
prohibited  the  substitution  of  another  animal  sacrifice 
for  that  which  had  been  vowed  (Lev.  xxvii.  io)  ;  and 
the  psalm  uses  the  same  word  for  “  changeth,”  with 
evident  allusion  to  the  prohibition,  which  must  there¬ 
fore  have  been  known  to  the  psalmist. 

Usury  and  bribery  were  common  sins,  as  they  still 
are  in  communities  on  the  same  industrial  and  judicial 
level  as  that  mirrored  in  the  psalm.  Capitalists  who 
“  bite  ”  the  poor  (for  that  is  the  literal  meaning  of  the 
words  for  usurious  taking  of  interest)  and  judges  who 
condemn  the  innocent  for  gain  are  the  blood-suckers  of 
such  societies.  The  avoidance  of  such  gross  sin  is  a 
most  elementary  illustration  of  walking  uprightly,  and 
could  only  have  been  chosen  to  stand  in  lieu  of  all 
other  neighbourly  virtues  in  an  age  when  these  sins 
were  deplorably  common.  This  draft  of  a  God¬ 
pleasing  character  is  by  no  means  complete  even  from 
the  Old  Testament  ethical  point  of  view.  There  are 
two  variations  of  it,  which  add  important  elements  : 
that  in  Psalm  xxiv.,  which  seems  to  have  been  occa¬ 
sioned  by  the  same  circumstances ;  and  the  noble 
adaptation  in  Isa.  xxxiii.  13-16,  which  is  probably 
moulded  on  a  reminiscence  of  both  psalms.  Add  to 
these  Micah’s  answer  to  the  question  what  God 
requires  of  man  (ch.  vi.  8),  and  we  have  an  interesting 
series,  exhibiting  the  effects  of  the  Law  on  the  moral 
judgments  of  devout  men  in  Israel. 

The  psalmist’s  last  word  goes  beyond  his  question, 
in  the  clear  recognition  that  such  a  character  as  he  has 
outlined  not  only  dwells  in  Jehovah’s  tent,  but  will 
stand  unmoved,  though  all  the  world  should  rock.  He 
does  not  see  how  far  onward  that  “  for  ever  ”  ma}' 
stretch,  but  of  this  he  is  sure  :  that  righteousness  is  the 


XV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


139 


one  stable  thing  in  the  universe,  and  there  may  have 
shone  before  him  the  hope  that  it  was  possible  to  travel 
on  beyond  the  horizon  that  bounds  this  life.  “I  shall 
be  a  guest  in  Jehovah’s  tent  for  ever,”  says  the  other 
psalm  already  quoted ;  “  He  shall  never  be  moved,” 
says  this  one.  Both  find  their  fulfilment  in  the  great 
words  of  the  Apostle  who  taught  a  completer  ideal  of 
love  to  men,  because  he  had  dwelt  close  by  the  perfect 
revelation  of  God’s  love  :  “  The  world  passeth  away, 
and  the  lust  thereof,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God 
abideth  for  ever.” 


PSALM  XVI. 


1  Preserve  me,  O  God,  for  I  take  refuge  in  Thee 

2  I  have  said  to  Jehovah,  Thou  art  my  Lord ; 

Good  for  me  there  is  none  besides  Thee. 

3  As  for  the  saints  which  are  in  the  earth, 

They  are  the  excellent,  in  whom  is  all  my  delight. 

4  Their  griefs  are  many  who  change  [Jehovah]  for  another. 

I  will  not  pour  out  their  drink  offerings  of  blood, 

And  will  not  take  their  names  on  my  lips. 

5  Jehovah  is  my  allotted  portion  and  my  cup; 

Thou  art  continually  my  lot. 

6  The  measuring  lines  have  fallen  for  me  in  pleasant  places, 
And  my  inheritance  is  fair  to  me. 

7  I  will  bless  Jehovah  who  has  given  me  counsel ; 

Yea,  in  the  night  seasons  my  reins  instruct  me. 

8  I  set  Jehovah  before  me  continually, 

Because  He  is  at  my  right  hand  I  shall  not  be  moved. 

9  Therefore  my  heart  rejoices,  and  my  glory  exults ; 

Yea,  my  flesh  dwells  in  safety. 

10  For  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  to  Sheol ; 

Thou  wilt  not  suffer  Thy  Beloved  One  to  see  the  pit. 

11  Thou  wilt  make  me  know  the  path  of  life ; 

Before  Thy  face  is  fulness  of  joys; 

Pleasures  are  in  Thy  right  hand  for  evermore. 

THE  progress  of  thought  in  this  psalm  is  striking. 

The  singer  is  first  a  bold  confessor  in  the  face 
of  idolatry  and  apostasy  (vv.  1-4).  Then  the  inward 
sweetness  of  his  faith  fills  his  soul,  as  is  ever  the 
reward  of  brave  avowal,  and  he  buries  himself,  bee¬ 
like  in  the  pure  delights  of  communion  with  Jehovah 
(vv.  5-8).  Finally,  on  the  ground  of  such  experience, 

140 


xvi.]  THE  PSALMS.  141 

he  rises  to  the  assurance  that  “its  very  sweetness 
yieldeth  proof”  that  he  and  it  are  born  for  undying 
life  (vv.  9-1 1 ).  The  conviction  of  immortality  is  then 
most  vividly  felt,  when  it  results  from  the  consciousness 
of  a  present  full  of  God.  The  outpourings  of  a  pure 
and  wholesome  mystic  religion  in  the  psalm  are  so 
entirely  independent  of  the  personality  and  environ¬ 
ment  of  the  singer  that  there  is  no  need  to  encumber 
the  study  of  it  with  questions  of  date.  If  we  accept 
the  opinion  that  the  conception  of  resurrection  was  the 
result  of  intercourse  with  Persia,  we  shall  have  to 
give  a  post-exilic  date  to  the  psalm.  But  even  if  the 
general  adoption  of  that  belief  was  historically  so 
motived,  that  does  not  forbid  our  believing  that  select 
souls,  living  in  touch  with  God,  rose  to  it  long  before. 
The  peaks  caught  the  glow  while  the  valleys  were  filled 
with  mists.  The  tone  of  the  last  section  sounds  liker 
that  of  a  devout  soul  in  the  very  act  of  grasping  a 
wonderful  new  thought,  which  God  was  then  and  there 
revealing  to  him  through  his  present  experience,  than 
of  one  who  was  simply  repeating  a  theological  truth 
become  familiar  to  all. 

The  first  turn  of  thought  (vv.  1-4)  is  clear  in  its 
general  purport.  It  is  a  profession  of  personal  adherence 
to  Jehovah  and  of  attachment  to  His  lovers,  in  the  face 
of  idol  worship  which  had  drawn  away  some.  The 
brief  cry  for  preservation  at  the  beginning  does  not 
necessarily  imply  actual  danger,  but  refers  to  the 
possible  antagonism  of  the  idol  worshippers  provoked 
by  the  psalmist’s  bold  testimony.  The  two  meanings 
of  Martyr,  a  witness  and  a  sufferer,  are  closely  inter¬ 
twined  in  fact.  He  needs  to  be  preserved,  and  he  has 
a  claim  to  be  so,  for  his  profession  of  faith  has  brought 
the  peril. 


142 


THE  PSALMS. 


The  remarkable  expression  in  ver.  2  b.  is  best  under¬ 
stood  as  unfolding  the  depth  of  what  lies  in  saying,  My 
God.  It  means  the  cleaving  to  Him  of  the  whole 
nature  as  the  all-comprehending  supply  of  every  desire 
and  capacity.  “  Good  for  me  is  none  besides  Thee.’' 
This  is  the  same  high  strain  as  in  the  cognate  Psalm 
lxxiii.  25,  where,  as  here,  the  joy  of  communion  is  seen  in 
the  very  act  of  creating  the  confidence  of  immortality. 
The  purest  expression  of  the  loftiest  devotion  lies 
in  these  few  words.  The  soul  that  speaks  thus  to 
Jehovah  turns  next  to  Jehovah’s  friends  and  then  to  His 
foes.  To  the  former  it  speaks,  in  ver.  3,  of  the  gnarled 
obscurity  of  which  the  simplest  clearing  up  is  that 
adopted  by  the  R.V.  This  requires  a  very  small 
correction  of  the  text,  the  omission  of  one  letter, 
{W aw  —  and)  before  “  excellent,”  and  the  transference 
to  the  second  clause  of  u  these,”  which  the  accents 
append  clumsily  to  the  first.  If  we  regard  the  “  to  ” 
at  the  beginning,  as  the  R.V.  does,  as  marking  simply 
reference  (“  as  for  ”),  the  verse  is  an  independent 
sentence  ;  but  it  is  possible  to  regard  the  influence  of 
u  I  have  said  ”  as  still  continuing,  and  in  that  case  we 
should  have  what  the  psalmist  said  to  the  saints, 
following  on  what  he  said  to  Jehovah,  which  gives 
unity  to  the  whole  context,  and  is  probably  best. 
Cheyne  would  expunge  the  first  clause  as  a  gloss 
crept  in  from  the  margin ;  and  that  clears  the  sense, 
though  the  remedy  is  somewhat  drastic,  and  a  fine 
touch  is  lost,  “  I  said  to  Thy  loved  ones, — these  (and 
not  the  braggarts  who  strut  as  great  men)  are  the  truly 
excellent,  in  whom  is  all  my  delight.”  When  tempta¬ 
tions  to  forsake  Jehovah  are  many,  the  true  worshipper 
has  to  choose  his  company,  and  his  devotion  to  his 
only  Good  will  lead  to  penetrating  insight  into  the 


xvi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


M3 


unreality  of  many  shining  reputations  and  the  modest 
beauty  of  humble  lives  of  godliness.  Eyes  which  have 
been  purged  to  see  God,  by  seeing  Him  will  see 
through  much.  Hearts  that  have  learned  to  love 
Jehovah  will  be  quick  to  discern  kindred  hearts,  and, 
if  they  have  found  all  good  in  Him,  will  surely  find 
purest  delight  in  them.  The  solitary  confessor  clasps 
the  hands  of  his  unknown  fellows. 

With  dramatic  abruptness  he  points  to  the  unnamed 
recreants  from  Jehovah.  “  Their  griefs  are  many — 
they  exchange  (Jehovah)  for  another."  Apparently, 
then,  there  was  some  tendency  in  Israel  to  idolatry, 
which  gives  energy  to  the  psalmist’s  vehement  vow  that 
he  will  not  offer  their  libations  of  blood,  nor  take  the 
abhorred  names  of  the  gods  they  pronounced  into  his 
lips.  This  state  of  things  would  suit  but  too  much  of 
Israel’s  history,  during  which  temptations  to  idol 
worship  were  continually  present,  and  the  bloody  liba¬ 
tions  would  point  to  such  abominations  of  human 
sacrifice  as  we  know  characterised  the  worship  of 
Moloch  and  Chemosh.  Cheyne  sees  in  the  reference 
to  these  a  sign  of  the  post-exilic  date  of  the  psalm ; 
but  was  there  any  period  after  the  exile  in  which  there 
was  danger  of  relapse  to  idolatry,  and  was  not  rather 
a  rigid  monotheism  the  great  treasure  which  the  exiles 
brought  back  ?  The  trait  seems  rather  to  favour  an 
earlier  date. 

In  the  second  section  (vv.  5-8)  the  devout  soul 
suns  itself  in  the  light  of  God,  and  tells  itself  how  rich 
it  is.  “  The  portion  of  mine  inheritance  ’’  might  mean 
an  allotted  share  of  either  food  or  land,  but  ver.  6 
favours  the  latter  interpretation.  u  Cup  ’’  here  is  not 
so  much  an  image  for  that  which  satisfies  thirst,  though 
that  would  be  beautiful,  as  for  that  which  is  appointed 


144 


THE  PSALMS. 


for  one  to  experience.  Such  a  use  of  the  figure  is 
familiar,  and  brings  it  into  line  with  the  other  of  inherit¬ 
ance,  which  is  plainly  the  principal,  as  that  of  the  cup 
is  dropped  in  the  following  words.  Every  godly  man 
has  the  same  possession  and  the  same  prohibitions  as 
the  priests  had.  Like  them  he  is  landless,  and  instead 
of  estates  has  Jehovah.  They  presented  in  mere  out¬ 
ward  fashion  what  is  the  very  law  of  the  devout  life. 
Because  God  is  the  only  true  Good,  the  soul  must 
have  none  other,  and  if  it  have  forsaken  all  other  by 
reason  of  the  greater  wealth  of  even  partial  possession 
of  Him,  it  will  be  growingly  rich  in  Him.  .  He  who  has 
said  unto  the  Lord,  “  Thou  art  my  Lord,”  will  with  ever 
increasing  decisiveness  of  choice  and  consciousness 
of  sufficiency  say,  “The  Lord  is  the  portion  of  mine 
inheritance.”  The  same  figure  is  continued  in  ver.  5  b . 
“  My  lot  ”  is  the  same  idea  as  "  my  portion,”  and  the 
natural  flow  of  thought  would  lead  us  to  expect  that 
Jehovah  is  both.  That  consideration  combines  with 
the  very  anomalous  grammatical  form  of  the  word 
rendered  “  maintainest  ”  to  recommend  the  slight  altera¬ 
tion  adopted  by  Cheyne  following  Dyserinck  and  Bickell, 
by  which  11  continually  ”  is  read  for  it.  What  God  is 
rather  than  what  He  does  is  filling  the  psalmist’s  happy 
thoughts,  and  the  depth  of  his  blessedness  already 
kindles  that  confidence  in  its  perpetuity  which  shoots 
up  to  so  bright  a  flame  in  the  closing  verses  (cf.  lxxiii.). 
The  consciousness  of  perfect  rest  in  perfect  satisfaction 
of  need  and  desires  ever  follows  possession  of  God. 
So  the  calm  rapture  of  ver.  6  is  the  true  utterance  of 
the  heart  acquainted  with  God,  and  of  it  alone.  One 
possession  only  bears  reflection.  Whatever  else  a  man 
has,  if  he  has  not  Jehovah  for  his  portion,  some  part 
of  himself  will  stand  stiffly  out,  dissentient  and  unsatis- 


xvi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


145 


fled,  and  hinder  him  from  saying  “  My  inheritance  is 
fair  to  me.”  That  verdict  of  experience  implies,  as  it 
stands  in  the  Hebrew,  subjective  delight  in  the  portion 
and  not  merely  the  objective  worth  of  it.  This  is  the 
peculiar  pre-eminence  of  a  God-filled  life,  that  the 
Infinitely  good  is  wholly  Good  to  it,  through  all  the 
extent  of  capacities  and  cravings.  Who  else  can  say 
the  same  ?  Blessed  they  whose  delights  are  in  God  ! 
He  will  ever  delight  them. 

No  wonder  that  the  psalmist  breaks  into  blessing ; 
but  it  is  deeply  significant  of  the  freedom  from  mere 
sentimental  religion  which  characterises  the  highest 
flights  of  his  devotion,  that  his  special  ground  of 
blessing  Jehovah  is  not  inward  peace  of  communion, 
but  the  wise  guidance  given  thereby  for  daily  diffi¬ 
culties.  A  God  whose  sweet  sufficiency  gives  satis¬ 
faction  for  all  desires  and  balm  for  every  wound  is 
much,  but  a  God  who  by  these  very  gifts  makes  duty 
plain,  is  more.  The  test  of  inward  devotion  is  its 
bearing  on  common  tasks.  True  wisdom  is  found  in 
fellowship  with  God.  Eyes  which  look  on  Him  see 
many  things  more  clearly.  The  “  reins  ”  are  conceived 
of  as  the  seat  of  the  Divine  voice.  In  Old  Testament 
psychology  they  seem  to  stand  for  feelings  rather  than 
reason  or  conscience,  and  it  is  no  mistake  of  the 
psalmist’s  when  he  thinks  that  through  them  God’s 
counsel  comes.  He  means  much  the  same  as  we  do 
when  we  say  that  devout  instincts  are  of  God.  He 
will  purify,  ennoble  and  instruct  even  the  lower  pro¬ 
pensities  and  emotions,  so  that  they  may  be  trusted 
to  guide,  when  the  heart  is  at  rest  in  Him.  “  Prayer 
is  better  than  sleep,”  says  the  Mohammedan  call  to 
devotion.  “  In  the  night  seasons,”  says  the  psalmist, 
when  things  are  more  clearly  seen  in  the  dark  than 

10 


146 


THE  PSALMS. 


by  day,  many  a  whisper  from  Jehovah  steals  into  his 
ears. 

The  upshot  of  all  is  a  firm  resolve  to  make  really 
his  what  is  his.  “I  set  Jehovah  always  before  me  ” — 
since  He  is  “always  my  lot.”  That  effort  of  faith 
is  the  very  life  of  devotion.  We  have  any  possession 
only  while  it  is  present  to  our  thoughts.  It  is  all  one 
not  to  have  a  great  estate  and  never  to  see  it  or  think 
about  it.  True  love  is  an  intense  desire  for  the  pre¬ 
sence  of  its  object.  God  is  only  ours  in  reality  when 
we  are  conscious  of  His  nearness,  and  that  is  strange 
love  of  Him  which  is  content  to  pass  days  without 
ever  setting  Him  before  itself.  The  effort  of  faith 
brings  an  ally  and  champion  for  faith,  for  “  He  is  at 
my  right  hand,”  in  so  far  as  I  set  Him  before  me. 
“At  my  right  hand,” — then  I  am  at  His  left,  and  the 
left  arm  wears  the  shield,  and  the  shield  covers  my 
head.  Then  He  is  close  by  my  working  hand,  to  direct 
its  activity  and  to  lay  His  own  great  hand  on  my  feeble 
one,  as  the  prophet  did  his  on  the  wasted  fingers  of  the 
sick  king  to  give  strength  to  draw’  the  bow.  The  ally 
of  faith  secures  the  stability  of  faith.  “  I  shall  not  be 
moved,”  either  by  the  agitations  of  passions  or  by  the 
shocks  of  fortune.  A  calm  heart,  which  is  not  the 
same  thing  as  a  stagnant  heart,  is  the  heritage  of  him 
who  has  God  at  his  side  ;  and  he  who  is  fixed  on  that 
rock  stands  four-square  to  all  the  winds  that  blow. 
Foolhardy  self-reliance  says,  I  shall  never  be  moved 
(x.  6),  and  the  end  of  that  boast  is  destruction.  A 
good  man,  seduced  by  prosperity,  may  forget  himself 
so  far  as  to  say  it  (xxx.  6),  and  the  end  of  that  has  to 
be  fatherly  discipline,  to  bring  him  right.  But  to  say 
“  Because  He  is  at  my  right  hand  I  shall  not  be  moved  ” 
is  but  to  claim  the  blessings  belonging  to  the  possession 


xvi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


147 


of  the  only  satisfying  inheritance,  even  Jehovah 
Himself. 

The  heart  that  expands  with  such  blessed  conscious¬ 
ness  of  possessing  God  can  chant  its  triumphant  song 
even  in  front  of  the  grave.  So,  in  his  closing  strain 
the  psalmist  pours  out  his  rapturous  faith  that  his 
fellowship  with  God  abolishes  death.  No  worthy 
climax  to  the  profound  consciousness  of  communion 
already  expressed,  nor  any  satisfactory  progress  of 
thought  justifying  the  " therefore”  of  ver.  9,  can  be 
made  out  with  any  explanation  of  the  final  verses, 
which  eliminates  the  assurance  of  immortal  life  from 
them.  The  experiences  of  the  devout  life  here  are 
prophecies.  These  aspirations  and  enjoyments  are  to 
their  possessor,  not  only  authentic  proofs  “  that  God 
is  and  that  He  is  the  rewarder  of  the  heart  that 
seeks  Him,”  but  also  witnesses  of  immortality  not  to  be 
silenced.  They  “  were  not  born  for  death,”  but,  in  their 
sweetness  and  incompleteness  alike,  point  onwards  to 
their  own  perpetuity  and  perfecting.  If  a  man  has 
been  able  to  say  and  has  said  “  My  God,”  nothing  will 
seem  more  impossible  to  him  than  that  such  a  trifle  as 
death  should  have  power  to  choke  his  voice  or  still  the 
outgoings  of  his  heart  towards,  and  its  rest  in,  his  God. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  current  beliefs  of  the 
psalmist’s  time  in  regard  to  a  future  life,  and  whether 
his  sunny  confidence  here  abode  with  him  in  less  blessed 
hours  of  less  “  high  communion  with  the  living  God,” 
or  ebbed  away,  leaving  him  to  the  gloomier  thoughts 
of  other  psalms,  we  need  not  try  to  determine.  Here, 
at  all  events,  we  see  his  faith  in  the  act  of  embracing 
the  great  thought,  which  may  have  been  like  the  rising 
of  a  new  sun  in  his  sky — namely,  the  conviction  that  this 
his  joy  was  joy  for  ever.  A  like  depth  of  personal 


I 


148 


THE  PSALMS. 


experience  of  the  sweetness  of  communion  with  God 
will  always  issue  in  like  far-seeing  assurance  of  its 
duration  as  unaffected  by  anything  that  touches  only 
the  physical  husk  of  the  true  self.  If  we  would  be  sure 
of  immortal  life,  we  must  make  the  mortal  a  God-filled 
life. 

The  psalmist  feels  the  glad  certainty  in  all  his 
complex  nature,  heart,  soul,  and  flesh.  All  three  have 
their  portion  in  the  joy  which  it  brings.  The  founda¬ 
tion  of  the  exultation  of  heart  and  soul  and  of  the  quiet 
rest  of  flesh  is  not  so  much  the  assurance  that  after 
death  there  will  be  life,  and  after  the  grave  a  resurrec¬ 
tion,  as  the  confidence  that  there  will  be  no  death  at 
all.  To  “  see  the  pit  ”  is  a  synonym  for  experiencing 
death,  and  what  is  hoped  for  is  exemption  from  it  alto¬ 
gether,  and  a  Divine  hand  leading  him,  as  Enoch  was 
led,  along  the  high  levels  on  a  "  path  of  life  ”  which 
leads  to  God’s  right  hand,  without  any  grim  descent  to 
the  dark  valley  below.  Such  an  expectation  may  be 
called  vain,  but  we  must  distinguish  between  the  form 
and  the  substance  of  the  psalmist’s  hope.  Its  essence 
was — unbroken  and  perfected  communion  with  God, 
uninterrupted  sense  of  possessing  Him,  and  therein  all 
delights  and  satisfactions.  To  secure  these  he  dared 
to  hope  that  for  him  death  would  be  abolished.  But 
he  died,  and  assuredly  he  found  that  the  unbroken 
communion  for  which  he  longed  was  persistent  through 
death,  and  that  in  dying  his  hope  that  he  should  not 
die  was  fulfilled  beyond  his  hope. 

The  correspondence  between  his  effort  of  faith  in 
ver.  8  and  his  final  position  in  ver.  1 1  is  striking.  He 
who  sets  Jehovah  continually  before  himself  will,  in  due 
time,  come  where  there  are  fulness  of  joys  before  God’s 
face  ;  and  he  who  here,  amid  distractions  and  sorrows, 


XVI.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


149 


has  kept  Jehovah  at  his  right  hand  as  his  counsellor, 
defender  and  companion,  will  one  day  stand  at  Jehovah’s 
right  hand,  and  be  satisfied  for  evermore  with  the  un¬ 
cloying  and  inexhaustible  pleasures  that  there  abide. 

The  singer,  whose  clear  notes  thus  rang  above  the 
grave,  died  and  saw  corruption.  But,  as  the  apostolic 
use  of  this  psalm  as  a  prophecy  of  Christ’s  resurrection 
has  taught  us,  the  apparent  contradiction  of  his  trium¬ 
phal  chant  by  the  fact  of  his  death  did  not  prove  it  to 
be  a  vain  dream.  If  there  ever  should  be  a  life  of 
absolutely  unbroken  communion,  that  would  be  a  life 
in  which  death  would  be  abolished.  Jesus  Christ  is 
God’s  tl  Beloved  ”  as  no  other  is.  He  has  conquered 
death  as  no  other  has.  The  psalm  sets  forth  the  ideal 
relation  of  the  perfectly  devout  man  to  death  and  the 
future,  and  that  ideal  is  a  reality  in  Him,  from  whom 
the  blessed  continuity,  which  the  psalmist  was  sure 
must  belong  to  fellowship  so  close  as  was  his  with  God, 
flows  to  all  who  unite  themselves  with  Him.  He  has 
trodden  the  path  of  life  which  He  shows  to  us,  and  it 
is  life,  at  every  step,  even  when  it  dips  into  the  dark¬ 
ness  of  what  men  call  death,  whence  it  rises  into  the 
light  of  the  Face  which  it  is  joy  to  see,  and  close  to  the 
loving  strong  Hand  which  holds  and  gives  pleasures  for 


evermore. 


PSALM  XVII. 


1  Hear  a  righteous  cause,  Jehovah,  attend  to  my  cry; 

Give  ear  to  my  prayer  from  no  lips  of  guile. 

2  From  Thy  face  let  my  sentence  go  forth; 

Thine  eyes  behold  rightly. 

3  Thou  provest  my  heart,  searchest  it  by  night, 

Triest  me  by  fire  :  Thou  findest  not  [anything]  ; 

Should  I  purpose  evil,  it  shall  not  pass  my  mouth  (?) 

4  As  for  (During)  the  doings  of  men,  by  the  word  of  Thy  lips 
1  have  kept  [me  from]  the  paths  of  the  violent  man. 

5  My  steps  have  held  fast  to  Thy  ways ; 

My  feet  have  not  slipped. 

6  I,  I  call  upon  Thee,  for  Thou  wilt  answer  me,  O  God ; 

Incline  Thine  ear  unto  me  :  hear  my  speech. 

7  Magnify  (Make  wonderful)  Thy  loving-kindnesses,  Thou  who 

savest  those  who  seek  refuge 
From  those  who  rise  [against  them  ?]  by  Thy  right  hand. 

8  Keep  me  as  the  pupil,  the  daughter  of  the  eye; 

In  the  shadow  of  Thy  wing  hide  me 

9  From  the  wicked,  who  lay  me  waste, 

My  enemies  at  heart,  [who]  ring  me  round. 

10  Their  heart  they  have  shut  up; 

With  their  mouth  they  speak  in  arrogance. 

11  In  our  steps,  they  already  compass  us  about; 

Their  eyes  they  fix,  to  lay  [us]  on  the  ground. 

12  He  is  like  a  lion  who  longs  to  rend, 

And  a  young  lion  crouching  in  coverts. 

13  Arise,  Jehovah:  meet  his  face:  make  him  crouch; 

Deliver  my  soul  from  the  wicked  [with]  Thy  sword, 

14  From  men  [by]  Thy  hand,  Jehovah,  from  men  of  the  world, 
[Having]  their  portion  in  [this]  life,  and  [with]  Thy  hidden  treasure 

Thou  fillest  their  belly; 

They  are  full  of  sons,  and  leave  their  overabundance  to  their 
children. 

15  I,  I  shall  in  righteousness  behold  Thy  face; 

I  shall  be  satisfied  on  awaking  [with]  Thy  likeness. 

15° 


xvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


HE  investigations  as  to  authorship  and  date  yield 


X  the  usual  conflicting  results.  Davidic,  say  one 
school ;  undoubtedly  post-exilic,  say  another,  without 
venturing  on  closer  definition ;  late  in  the  Persian 
period,  says  Cheyne.  Perhaps  we  may  content  our¬ 
selves  with  the  modest  judgment  of  Baethgen  in  his 
last  book  (“  Handcommentar,”  1892,  p.  45)  :  “The  date 
of  composition  cannot  be  decided  by  internal  indications.” 
The  background  is  the  familiar  one  of  causeless  foes 
round  an  innocent  sufferer,  who  flings  himself  into 
God’s  arms  for  safety,  and  in  prayer  enters  into  peace 
and  hope.  He  is,  no  doubt,  a  representative  of  the 
Ecclesia  pressa ;  but  he  is  so  just  because  his  cry  is 
intensely  personal.  The  experience  of  one  is  the  type 
for  all,  and  a  poet’s  prerogative  is  to  cast  his  most 
thoroughly  individual  emotions  into  words  that  fit  the 
universal  heart.  The  psalm  is  called  a  “  prayer,”  a 
title  given  to  only  four  other  psalms,  none  of  which  are 
in  the  First  Book.  It  has  three  movements,  marked 
by  the  repetition  of  the  name  of  God,  which  does  not 
appear  elsewhere,  except  in  the  doubtful  verse  1 4.  These 
three  are  vv.  1-5,  in  which  the  cry  for  help  is  founded 
on  a  strong  profession  of  innocence  ;  vv.  6-12,  in  which 
it  is  based  on  a  vivid  description  of  the  enemies; 
and  vv.  13-15,  in  which  it  soars  into  the  pure  air  of 
mystic  devotion,  and  thence  looks  down  on  the  transient 
prosperity  of  the  foe  and  upwards,  in  a  rapture  of 
hope,  to  the  face  of  God. 

The  petition  proper,  in  vv.  1,  2,  and  its  ground,  are 
both  strongly  marked  by  conscious  innocence,  and 
therefore  sound  strange  to  our  ears,  trained  as  we 
have  been  by  the  New  Testament  to  deeper  insight 
into  sin.  This  sufferer  asks  God  to  “hear  righteous- 


1 


152  THE  PSALMS. 

ness,”  i.e.  his  righteous  cause.  He  pleads  the  bona 
/ides  of  his  prayer,  the  fervour  of  which  is  marked  by 
its  designation  as  “my  ay/  the  high-pitched  note 
usually  the  expression  of  joy,  but  here  of  sore  need 
and  strong  desire.  Boldly  he  asks  for  his  “  sentence 
from  Thy  face,”  and  the  ground  of  that  petition  is 
that  “Thine  eyes  behold  rightly.”  Was  there,  then, 
no  inner  baseness  that  should  have  toned  down  such 
confidence  ?  Was  this  prayer  not  much  the  same  as  the 
Pharisee’s  in  Christ’s  parable  ?  The  answer  is  partly 
found  in  the  considerations  that  the  innocence  professed 
is  specially  in  regard  to  the  occasions  of  the  psalmist’s 
present  distress,  and  that  the  acquittal  by  deliverance 
which  he  asks  is  God’s  testimony  that  as  to  these  he 
was  slandered  and  clear.  But,  further,  the  strong 
professions  of  heart-cleanness  and  outward  obedience 
which  follow  are  not  so  much  denials  of  any  sin  as 
avowals  of  sincere  devotion  and  honest  submission  of 
life  to  God’s  law.  They  are  “  the  answer  of  a  good 
conscience  towards  God,”  expressed,  indeed,  more 
absolutely  than  befits  Christian  consciousness,  but 
having  nothing  in  common  with  Pharisaic  self-com¬ 
placency.  The  modern  type  of  religion  which  recoils 
from  such  professions,  and  contents  itself  with  always 
confessing  sins  which  it  has  given  up  hope  of  over¬ 
coming,  would  be  all  the  better  for  listening  to  the 
psalmist  and  aiming  a  little  more  vigorously  and  hope¬ 
fully  at  being  able  to  say,  “  I  know  nothing  against 
myself.”  There  is  no  danger  in  such  a  saying,  if  it  be 
accompanied  by  “Yet  am  I  not  hereby  justified”  and 
by  “Who  can  understand  his  errors?  Cleanse  Thou 
me  from  secret  faults.” 

The  general  drift  of  vv.  3-5  is  clear,  but  the  precise 
meaning  and  connection  are  extremely  obscure.  Pro- 


THE  PSALMS. 


153 


xvii.] 


bably  the  text  is  faulty.  It  has  been  twisted  in  all 
sorts  of  "ways,  the  Masoretic  accents  have  been  dis¬ 
regarded,  the  division  of  verses  set  aside,  and  still  no 
proposed  rendering  of  parts  of  vv.  3,  4,  is  wholly 
satisfactory.  The  psalmist  deals  with  heart,  lips,  feet — 
that  is,  thoughts,  words,  and  deeds — and  declares  the 
innocence  of  all.  But  difficulties  begin  when  we  look 
closer.  The  first  question  is  as  to  the  meaning  and 
connection  of  the  word  rendered  in  the  A.V.  and 
R.V.,  “I  am  purposed.”  It  may  be  a  first  person 
singular  or  an  infinitive  used  as  a  noun  or  even 
a  noun,  meaning,  in  both  the  latter  cases,  sub¬ 
stantially  the  same,  i.e.  my  thinking  or  my  thoughts. 
It  is  connected  by  the  accents  with  what  follows ;  but 
in  that  case  the  preceding  verb  “find”  is  left  without 
an  object,  and  hence  many  renderings  attach  the  word 
to  the  preceding  clause,  and  so  get  “Thou  shalt  find 
no  [evil]  thoughts  in  me.”  This  division  of  the  clauses 
leaves  the  words  rendered,  by  A.V.  and  R.V.,  “My 
mouth  shall  not  transgress,”  standing  alone.  There  is 
no  other  instance  of  the  verb  standing  by  itself  with 
that  meaning,  nor  is  “mouth”  clearly  the  subject.  It 
may  as  well  be  the  object,  and  the  clause  be,  “  [It]  shall 
not  pass  my  mouth.”  If  that  is  the  meaning,  we  have 
to  look  to  the  preceding  word  as  defining  what  it  is  that 
is  thus  to  be  kept  unuttered,  and  so  detach  it  from  the 
verb  “find,”  as  the  accents  do.  The  knot  has  been 
untied  in  two  ways  :  “  My  [evil]  purpose  shall  not  pass,” 
etc.,  or,  taking  the  word  as  a  verb  and  regarding  the 
clause  as  hypothetical,  “Should  I  think  evil,  it  shall  not 
pass,”  etc. 

Either  of  these  renderings  has  the  advantage  of  retain¬ 
ing  the  recognised  meaning  of  the  verb  and  of  avoiding 
neglect  of  the  accent.  Such  a  rendering  has  been 


154 


THE  PSALMS. 


objected  to  as  inconsistent  with  the  previous  clause, 
but  the  psalmist  may  be  looking  back  to  it,  feeling  that 
his  partial  self-knowledge  makes  it  a  bold  statement, 
and  thus  far  limiting  it,  that  if  any  evil  thought  is 
found  in  his  heart,  it  is  sternly  repressed  in  silence* 
Obscurity  continues  in  ver.  4.  The  usual  rendering, 
“As  for  [or,  During]  the  works  of  men,  by  the  word  of 
Thy  mouth  I  have  kept  me,”  etc.,  is  against  the  accents, 
which  make  the  principal  division  of  the  verse  fall  after 
“  lips  ”  ;  but  no  satisfactory  sense  results  if  the  accen¬ 
tuation  is  followed  unless  we  suppose  a  verb  implied, 
such  as,  e.g.j  stand  fast  or  the  like,  so.  getting  the 
profession  of  steadfastness  in  the  words  of  God’s  lips, 
in  face  of  men’s  self-willed  doings.  But  this  is 
precarious,  and  probably  the  ordinary  way  of  cutting 
the  knot  by  neglecting  the  accents  is  best.  In  any 
case  the  avowal  of  innocence  passes  here  from  thoughts 
and  words  to  acts.  The  contrast  of  the  psalmist’s 
closed  mouth  and  God’s  lips  is  significant,  even  if 
unintended.  Only  he  who  silences  much  that  rises 

in  his  heart  can  hear  God  speaking.  “I  kept  me 
from,”  is  a  very  unusual  meaning  for  the  word  em¬ 
ployed,  which  generally  signifies  to  guard  or  watch , 
but  here  seems  to  mean  to  take  heed  so  as  to  avoid. 
Possibly  the  preposition  from ,  denoted  by  a  single 
letter,  has  fallen  out  before  “  paths.”  This  negative 
avoidance  precedes  positive  walking  in  God’s  ways, 
since  the  poet’s  position  is  amidst  evil  men.  Good¬ 
ness  has  to  learn  to  say  No  to  men,  if  it  is  ever 
to  say  Yes  to  God.  The  foot  has  to  be  forcibly 
plucked  and  vigilantly  kept  from  foul  ways  before  it 
can  be  planted  firmly  in  “Thy  paths.”  By  holding 
fast  to  courses  appointed  by  God  stability  is  ensured. 
Thus  the  closing  clause  of  this  first  part  is  rather 


THE  PSALMS. 


*55 


xvii.] 


an  acknowledgment  of  the  happy  result  of  devoted 
cleaving  to  God  than  an  assertion  of  self-secured  stead¬ 
fastness.  “  My  feet  do  not  slip,”  not  so  much  because 
they  are  strong  as  because  the  road  is  good,  and  the 
Guide’s  word  and  hand  ready. 

The  second  part  repeats  the  prayer  for  help,  but 
bases  it  on  the  double  ground  of  God’s  character  and 
acts  and  of  the  suppliant’s  desperate  straits ;  and  of  these 
two  the  former  comes  first  in  the  prayer,  though  the 
latter  has  impelled  to  the  prayer.  Faith  may  be  helped 
to  self-consciousness  by  the  sense  of  danger,  but  when 
awakened  it  grasps  God’s  hand  first  and  then  faces  its 
foes.  In  this  part  of  the  psalm  the  petitions,  the 
aspects  of  the  Divine  character  and  working,  and  the 
grim  picture  of  dangers  are  all  noteworthy.  The 
petitions  by  their  number  and  variety  reveal  the 
pressure  of  trouble,  each  new  prick  of  fear  or  pain 
forcing  a  new  cry  and  each  cry  recording  a  fresh  act  of 
faith  tightening  its  grasp.  The  “  I  ”  in  ver.  6  is  em¬ 
phatic,  and  may  be  taken  as  gathering  up  the  psalmist’s 
preceding  declarations  and  humbly  laying  them  before 
God  as  a  plea :  “  /,  who  thus  cleave  to  Thy  ways ,  call 
upon  Thee,  and  my  prayer  is  that  of  faith,  which  is  sure 
of  answer.”  But  that  confidence  does  not  make  petition 
superfluous,  but  rather  encourages  it.  The  assurance 
that  “Thou  wilt  answer”  is  the  reason  for  the  prayer, 
“Incline  Thine  ear.”  Naturally  at  such  a  moment  the 
name  of  God  springs  to  the  psalmist’s  lips,  but  signifi¬ 
cantly  it  is  not  the  name  found  in  the  other  two  parts  of 
the  psalm.  There  He  is  invoked  as  “Jehovah,”  here  as 
“  God.”  The  variation  is  not  merely  rhetorical,  but  the 
name  which  connotes  power  is  appropriate  in  a  prayer 
for  deliverance  from  peril  so  extreme.  “  Magnify  [or 
make  wonderful]  Thy  loving-kindnesses  ”  is  a  petition 


THE  PSALMS. 


156 

containing  at  once  a  glimpse  of  the  psalmist’s  danger,  for 
escape  from  which  nothing  short  of  a  wonder  of  power 
will  avail,  and  an  appeal  to  God’s  delight  in  magnifying 
His  name  by  the  display  of  His  mercy.  The  prayer 
sounds  arrogant,  as  if  the  petitioner  thought  himself 
important  enough  to  have  miracles  wrought  for  him ; 
but  it  is  really  most  humble,  for  the  very  wonder  of  the 
loving-kindness  besought  is  that  it  should  be  exercised 
for  such  a  one.  God  wins  honour  by  saving  a  poor 
man  who  cries  to  Him ;  and  it  is  with  deep  insight  into 
the  heart  of  God  that  this  man  presents  himself  as 
offering  an  occasion,  in  which  God  must  delight,  to  flash 
the  glory  of  His  loving  power  before  dull  eyes.  The 
petitions  grow  in  boldness  as  they  go  on,  and  culminate 
in  two  which  occur  in  similar  contiguity  in  the  great 
Song  of  Moses  in  Deut.  xxxii.  :  “  Keep  me  as  the  pupil 
of  Thy  eye.”  What  closeness  of  union  with  God  that 
lovely  figure  implies,  and  what  sedulous  guardianship  it 
implores !  “  In  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings  hide  me.” 

What  tenderness  of  fostering  protection  that  ascribes 
to  God,  and  what  warmth  and  security  it  asks  for  man  1 
The  combination  and  order  of  these  two  petitions  may 
teach  us  that,  if  we  are  to  be  “kept,”  we  must  be 
hidden ;  that  if  these  frail  lives  of  ours  are  to  be  dear 
to  God  as  the  apple  of  His  eye,  they  must  be  passed 
nestling  close  by  His  side.  Deep,  secret  communion 
with  Him  is  the  condition  of  His  protection  of  us,  as 
another  psalm,  using  the  same  image,  has  it :  “  He  that 
dwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High  shall 
abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty.” 

The  aspects  of  the  Divine  character,  which  the 
psalmist  employs  to  move  God’s  heart  and  to  encourage 
his  own,  are  contained  first  in  the  name  “  God,”  and 
next  in  the  reference  to  His  habitual  dealings  with 


xvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


157 


trusting  souls,  in  ver  7.  From  of  old  it  has  been  His 
way  to  be  the  Saviour  of  such  as  take  refuge  in  Him 
from  their  enemies,  and  His  right  hand  has  shielded 
them.  That  past  is  a  prophecy  which  the  psalmist 
grasps  in  faith.  He  has  in  view  instances  enough  to 
warrant  an  induction  absolutely  certain.  He  knows 
the  law  of  the  Divine  dealings,  and  is  sure  that  any¬ 
thing  may  happen  rather  than  that  it  shall  fail.  Was 
he  wrong  in  thus  characterising  God?  Much  in  his  ex¬ 
perience  and  in  ours  looks  as  if  he  were ;  but  they  who 
most  truly  understand  what  help  or  salvation  truly 
is  will  most  joyously  dwell  in  the  sunny  clearness 
of  this  confidence,  which  will  not  be  clouded  fbr  them, 
though  their  own  and  others’  trust  is  not  answered  by 
what  sense  calls  deliverance. 

The  eye  which  steadily  looks  on  God  can  look 
calmly  at  dangers.  It  is  with  no  failure  of  faith  that 
the  poet’s  thoughts  turn  to  his  enemies.  Fears  that 
have  become  prayers  are  already  more  than  half  con¬ 
quered.  The  psalmist  would  move  God  to  help,  not 
himself  to  despair,  by  recounting  his  perils.  The  enemy 
“spoil”  him  or  lay  him  waste,  the  word  used  for  the 
ravages  of  invaders.  They  are  “enemies  in  soul”— - 
i.e.t  deadly — or  perhaps  “against  [my]  soul”  or  life. 
They  are  pitiless  and  proud,  closing  their  hearts,  which 
prosperity  has  made  “  fat  ”  or  arrogant,  against  the 
entrance  of  compassion,  and  indulging  in  gasconading 
boasts  of  their  own  power  and  contemptuous  scoffs  at 
his  weakness.  They  ring  him  round,  watching  his 
steps.  The  text  has  a  sudden  change  here  from 
singular  to  plural,  and  back  again  to  singular,  reading 
“  our  steps,”  and  “ They  have  compassed  me”  which 
the  Hebrew  margin  alters  to  “us.”  The  wavering 
between  the  singular  and  plural  is  accounted  for  by 


158  THE  PSALMS. 

the  upholders  of  the  Davidic  authorship  by  a  reference 
to  him  and  his  followers,  and  by  the  advocates  of  the 
theory  that  the  speaker  is  the  personified  Israel  by 
supposing  that  the  mask  falls  for  a  moment,  and  the 
“me,”  which  always  means  “us,”  gives  place  to  the 
collective.  Ver.  11  b  is  ambiguous  in  consequence  of 
the  absence  of  an  object  to  the  second  verb.  To 
“set  the  eyes”  is  to  watch  fixedly  and  eagerly;  and 
the  purpose  of  the  gaze  is  in  the  next  clause  stated 
by  an  infinitive  with  a  preposition,  not  by  a  parti¬ 
ciple,  as  in  the  A.V.  The  verb  is  sometimes  transi¬ 
tive  and  sometimes  intransitive,  but  the  former  is  the 
better  meaning  here,  and  the  omitted  object  is  most 
naturally  “us”  or  “me.”  The  sense,  then,  will  be 
that  the  enemies  eagerly  watch  for  an  opportunity  to 
cast  down  the  psalmist,  so  as  to  lay  him  low  on  the 
earth.  The  intransitive  meaning  “  to  bow  down  ”  is 
taken  by  some  commentators.  If  that  is  adopted  (as  it 
is  by  Hupfeld  and  others),  the  reference  is  to  “our 
steps  ”  in  the  previous  clause,  and  the  sense  of  the  whole 
is  that  eager  eyes  watch  for  these  “  bowing  to  the 
ground,”  that  is  stumbling.  But  such  a  rendering  is 
harsh,  since  steps  are  always  on  the  ground.  Baethgen 
(“  Handcommentar  ”),  on  the  strength  of  Num.  xxi.  22, 
the  only  place  where  the  verb  occurs  with  the  same  pre¬ 
position  as  here,  and  which  he  takes  as  meaning  “  to  turn 
aside  to  field  or  vineyard — i.e.}  to  plunder  them  ” — would 
translate,  “They  direct  their  eyes  to  burst  into  the 
land,”  and  supposes  the  reference  to  be  to  some 
impending  invasion.  A  similar  variation  in  number 
to  that  in  ver.  1 1  occurs  in  ver.  1 2,  where  the  enemies 
are  concentrated  into  one.  The  allusion  is  supposed 
to  be  to  some  one  conspicuous  leader — e.g.t  Saul — b  4 
probably  the  change  is  merely  an  illustration  of  the 


xvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


*59 


carelessness  as  to  such  grammatical  accuracy  charac¬ 
teristic  of  emotional  Hebrew  poetry.  The  familiar 
metaphor  of  the  lurking  lion  may  have  been  led  up 
to  in  the  poet’s  imagination  by  the  preceding  pic¬ 
ture  of  the  steadfast  gaze  of  the  enemy,  like  the  glare 
of  the  green  eyeballs  flashing  from  the  covert  of  a 
jungle. 

The  third  part  (vv.  13-15)  renews  the  cry  for 
deliverance,  and  unites  the  points  of  view  of  the  pre¬ 
ceding  parts  in  inverted  order,  describing  first  the 
enemies  and  then  the  psalmist,  but  with  these  significant 
differences,  the  fruits  of  his  communion  with  God,  that 
now  the  former  are  painted,  not  in  their  fierceness,  but 
in  their  transitory  attachments  and  low  delights,  and 
that  the  latter  does  not  bemoan  his  own  helplessness  nor 
build  on  his  own  integrity,  but  feeds  his  soul  on  his 
confidence  of  the  vision  of  God  and  the  satisfaction 
which  it  will  bring.  The  smoke  clouds  that  rolled  in 
the  former  parts  have  caught  fire,  and  one  clear  shoot 
of  flame  aspires  heavenward.  He  who  makes  his 
needs  known  to  God  gains  for  immediate  answer  “the 
peace  of  God,  which  passeth  understanding,”  and  can 
wait  God’s  time  for  the  rest.  The  crouching  lion  is 
still  ready  to  spring ;  but  the  psalmist  hides  himself 
behind  God,  whom  he  asks  to  face  the  brute  and  make 
him  grovel  at  his  feet  (“Make  him  bow  down,”  the 
same  word  used  for  a  lion  couchant  in  Gen.  xlix.  9 
and  Num.  xxiv.  9).  The  rendering  of  ver.  13  “the 
wicked,  who  is  Thy  sword,”  introduces  an  irrelevant 
thought ;  and  it  is  better  to  regard  the  sword  as  God’s 
weapon  that  slays  the  crouching  wild  beast.  The 
excessive  length  of  ver.  14  and  the  entirely  pleonastic 
“  from  men  (by)  Thy  hand,  O  Lord,”  suggest  textual 
corruption.  The  thought  runs  more  smoothly,  though 


1 


i6o  THE  PSALMS. 


not  altogether  clearly,  if  these  words  are  omitted. 
There  remains  a  penetrating  characterisation  of  the 
enemy  in  the  sensuous  limitations  and  mistaken  aims 
of  his  godless  being,  which  may  be  satiated  with  low 
delights,  but  never  satisfied,  and  has  to  leave  them  all 
at  last.  He  is  no  longer  dreaded,  but  pitied.  His 
prayer  has  cleared  the  psalmist’s  eyes  and  lifted  him 
high  enough  to  see  his  foes  as  they  are.  They  are 
“men  of  the  world,”  belonging,  by  the  set  of  their 
lives,  to  a  transitory  order  of  things — an  anticipation 
of  New  Testament  language  about  “the  children  of 
this  world.”  “Their  portion  is  in  [this]  life,”  while  the 
psalmist’s  is  God  (xvi.  5).  They  have  chosen  to  have 
their  good  things  in  their  lifetime.  Hopes,  desires, 
aims,  tastes,  are  all  confined  within  the  narrow  bounds 
of  time  and  sense,  than  which  there  can  be  no  greater 
folly.  Such  limitation  will  often  seem  to  succeed,  for 
low  aims  are  easily  reached ;  and  God  sometimes  lets 
men  have  their  fill  of  the  goods  at  which  their  perverted 
choice  clutches.  But  even  so  the  choice  is  madness  and 
misery,  for  the  man,  gorged  with  worldly  good,  has  yet 
to  leave  it,  however  unwilling  to  loosen  his  hold.  He 
cannot  use  his  goods ;  and  it  is  no  comfort  to  him,  sent 
away  naked  into  darkness  of  death,  that  his  descendants 
revel  in  what  was  his. 

How  different  the  contrasted  conditions  of  the  hunted 
psalmist  and  his  enemies  look  when  the  light  of  such 
thoughts  streams  on  them  1  The  helpless  victim  towers 
above  his  persecutors,  for  his  desires  go  up  to  Him 
who  abides  and  saturates  with  His  blessed  fulness  the 
heart  that  aspires  to  Him.  Terrors  vanish ;  foes  are 
forgotten ;  every  other  wish  is  swallowed  up  in  one, 
which  is  a  confidence  as  well  as  a  desire.  The  psalmist 
neither  grudges,  nor  is  perplexed  by,  the  prosperity  of 


xvii.j 


The  psalms . 


161 


the  wicked.  The  mysteries  of  men’s  earthly  lot  puzzle 
those  who  stand  at  a  lower  elevation ;  but  they  do  not 
disturb  the  soul  on  these  supreme  heights  of  mystic 
devotion,  where  God  is  seen  to  be  the  only  good,  and 
the  hungry  heart  is  filled  with  Him.  Assuredly  the 
psalmist’s  closing  expectation  embodies  the  one  contrast 
worth  notice :  that  between  the  present  gross  and 
partial  satisfactions  of  sense-bound  lives  and  the  calm, 
permanent,  full  delights  of  communion  with  God.  But 
does  he  limit  his  hopes  to  such  “  hours  of  high  com¬ 
munion  with  the  living  God  ”  as  may  be  ours,  even 
while  the  foe  rings  us  round  and  earth  holds  us  down  ? 
Possibly  so,  but  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  worthy  meaning 
for  “  when  I  awake  ”  unless  it  be  from  the  sleep  of 
death.  Possibly,  too,  the  allusion  to  the  men  of  the 
world  as  “leaving  their  substance  ”  makes  the  reference 
to  a  future  beatific  vision  more  likely.  Death  is  to 
them  the  stripping  off  of  their  chosen  portion ;  it  is  to 
him  whose  portion  is  God  the  fuller  possession  of  all 
that  he  loves  and  desires.  Cheyne  (“Orig.  of  Psalt.,” 
p.  407)  regards  the  “  awaking  ”  as  that  from  the  “  sleep  ” 
of  the  intermediate  state  by  “  the  passing  of  the  soul 
into  a  resurrection  body.”  He  is  led  to  the  recognition 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  here  by  his  theory  of 
the  late  date  of  the  psalm  and  the  influence  of  Zoroas¬ 
trianism  on  it.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  an 
allusion  to  the  resurrection.  Rather  the  psalmist’s  con¬ 
fidence  is  the  offspring  of  his  profound  consciousness  of 
present  communion,  and  we  see  here  the  very  process  by 
which  a  devout  man,  in  the  absence  of  a  clear  revelation 
of  the  future,  reached  up  to  a  conclusion  to  which  he  was 
led  by  his  experience  of  the  inmost  reality  of  friendship 
with  God.  The  impotence  of  death  on  the  relation  of 
the  devout  soul  to  God  is  a  postulate  of  faith,  whether 

M 


THE  PSALMS. 


162 


formulated  as  an  article  of  faith  or  not.  Probably  the 
psalmist  had  no  clear  conception  of  a  future  life ;  but 
certainly  he  had  a  distinct  assurance  of  it,  because 
he  felt  that  the  very  “  sweetness  ”  of  present  fellow¬ 
ship  with  God  “  yielded  proof  that  it  was  born  for 
immortality.” 


PSALM  XVIII. 

1  Heartily  do  I  love  Thee,  Jehovah,  my  strength  ! 

2  Jehovah,  my  rock  and  my  fortress  and  my  deliverer, 

My  God,  my  rock  in  whom  I  take  refuge, 

My  shield  and  the  horn  of  my  salvation  and  my  high  tower  ! 

3  I  call  upon  Him  who  is  to  be  praised,  Jehovah ; 

And  from  mine  enemies  am  I  saved. 

4  The  breakers  of  death  ringed  me  round, 

And  streams  of  destruction  terrified  me. 

5  The  cords  of  Sheol  encircled  me  ; 

The  snares  of  death  fronted  me. 

6  In  my  distress  I  called  on  Jehovah, 

And  to  my  God  I  loudly  cried  ; 

He  heard  my  voice  from  His  palace-temple, 

And  my  loud  crying  before  Him  entered  His  cars. 

7  Then  the  earth  rocked  and  reeled, 

And  the  foundations  of  the  mountains  quivered 
And  rocked  again,  for  He  was  wroth. 

8  Smoke  went  up  in  His  nostrils, 

And  fire  from  His  mouth  devoured  ; 

Brands  came  blazing  from  Him. 

9  And  He  bowed  the  heavens  and  came  down, 

And  cloud  gloom  [was]  below  His  feet. 

10  And  He  rode  upon  the  cherub  and  flew, 

And  came  swooping  on  the  wings  of  the  wind. 

11  He  made  darkness  His  covert,  His  tent  round  about  Him, 
Darkness  of  waters  and  cloud  masses  of  the  skies. 

12  From  the  brightness  before  Him  there  passed  through  His 

cloud-masses 
Hail  and  brands  of  fire. 

13  And  Jehovah  thundered  in  the  heavens, 

And  the  Most  High  gave  forth  His  voice. 

163 


J 


164 


THE  PSALMS. 


14  And  He  sent  forth  His  arrows  and  scattered  them, 

And  lightnings  many,  and  flung  them  into  panic. 

15  And  the  beds  of  the  waters  were  seen, 

And  the  foundations  of  the  earth  bared, 

At  Thy  rebuke,  Jehovah, 

At  the  blast  of  the  breath  of  Thy  nostrils. 

16  He  stretched  from  on  high  :  He  took  me; 

He  drew  me  from  many  waters. 

17  He  rescued  me  from  my  strong  enemy 

And  from  my  haters,  because  they  were  too  mighty  for  me. 

18  They  fell  on  me  in  the  day  of  my  calamity, 

But  Jehovah  became  as  a  staff  to  me. 

19  And  He  brought  me  out  into  a  wide  place; 

He  delivered  me,  because  He  delighted  in  me. 

20  Jehovah  treated  me  according  to  my  righteousness; 

According  to  the  cleanness  of  my  hands  He  returned  [recompense] 

to  me. 

21  For  I  kept  the  ways  of  Jehovah, 

And  did  not  part  myself  by  sin  from  my  God. 

22  For  all  His  judgments  were  before  me, 

And  His  statutes  did  I  not  put  away  from  me. 

23  And  I  was  without  fault  with  Him, 

And  I  kept  myself  from  my  iniquity. 

24  Therefore  Jehovah  returned  [recompense]  to  me  according  to  my 

righteousness, 

According  to  the  cleanness  of  my  hands  before  His  eyes. 

25  With  the  gracious  man  Thou  showest  Thyself  gracious; 

With  the  faultless  man  Thou  showest  Thyself  faultless. 

26  With  him  who  purifies  himself  Thou  showest  Thyself  pure. 

And  with  the  perverse  Thou  showest  Thyself  froward. 

27  For  Thou  savest  humbled  people, 

And  eyes  uplifted  Thou  dost  bring  low. 

28  For  Thou  lightest  my  lamp  ; 

Jehovah  my  God  brightens  my  darkness. 

29  For  by  Thee  I  run  down  a  troop, 

And  through  my  God  I  spring  over  a  rampart. 

30  As  for  God,  His  way  is  faultless ; 

The  word  of  Jehovah  is  tried  (as  by  fire)  : 

A  shield  is  He  to  all  who  take  refuge  in  Him. 

31  For  who  is  God  but  Jehovah, 

And  who  is  a  rock  besides  our  God  ? 


•  ••  T 

xvin.J 


THE  PSALMS. 


165 


32  [It  is]  God  who  girded  me  with  strength, 

And  made  my  way  faultless ; 

33  Who  made  my  feet  like  hinds’  [feet], 

And  made  me  stand  upon  my  high  places ; 

34  Who  schooled  my  hands  for  war, 

So  that  my  arms  bend  a  bow  of  brass. 

35  And  Thou  didst  give  me  the  shield  of  Thy  salvation, 

And  Thy  right  hand  upheld  me, 

And  Thy  humility  made  me  great. 

36  Thou  didst  broaden  under  me  [a  path  for]  my  step, 

And  my  ankles  did  not  give. 

37  I  pursued  my  enemies,  and  overtook  them  ; 

And  I  did  not  turn  till  I  had  consumed  them. 

38  I  shattered  them,  and  they  could  not  rise ; 

They  fell  beneath  my  feet. 

39  And  Thou  girdedst  me  with  might  for  battle; 

Thou  didst  bring  my  assailants  to  their  knees  under  me. 

40  And  my  enemies  Thou  madest  to  turn  their  backs  to  me, 

And  my  haters — I  annihilated  them. 

41  They  shrieked,  and  there  was- no  helper, 

To  Jehovah,  and  He  answered  them  not. 

42  1  pounded  them  like  dust  before  the  wind  ; 

Like  street  mud  I  emptied  them  out. 

43  Thou  didst  deliver  me  from  the  strifes  of  the  people; 

Thou  didst  set  me  for  a  head  of  the  nations  ; 

A  people  whom  I  knew  not  served  me. 

44  At  the  hearing  of  the  ear  they  made  themselves  obedient  to  me  ; 
The  children  of  the  foreigner  came  feigning  to  me. 

45  The  children  of  the  foreigner  faded  away, 

And  came  trembling  from  their  strongholds. 

46  Jehovah  lives,  and  blessed  be  my  rock; 

And  exalted  be  the  God  of  my  salvation, 

47  The  God  who  gave  me  revenges 
And  subdued  peoples  under  me, 

48  My  deliverer  from  my  enemies  : 

Yea,  from  my  assailants  Thou  didst  set  me  on  high, 

From  the  man  of  violence  didst  Thou  rescue  me. 

49  Therefore  will  I  give  Thee  thanks  among  the  nations,  Jehovah; 
And  to  Thy  name  will  I  sing  praise. 


1 66 


THE  PSALMS. 


50  He  magnifies  salvations  for  His  king, 

And  works  loving-kindness  for  His  anointed, 
For  David  and  for  his  seed  for  evermore. 


HE  description  of  the  theophany  (vv.  7-19)  and 


X  that  of  the  psalmist’s  God-won  victories  (vv.  32- 
46)  appear  to  refer  to  the  same  facts,  transfigured  in 
the  former  case  by  devout  imagination  and  presented 
in  the  latter  in  their  actual  form.  These  two  portions 
make  the  two  central  masses  round  which  the  psalm 
is  built  up.  They  are  connected  by  a  transitional 
section,  of  which  the  main  theme  is  the  power  of 
character  to  determine  God’s  aspect  to  a  man  as  exem¬ 
plified  in  the  singer’s  experience ;  and  they  are  preceded 
and  followed  by  an  introduction  and  a  conclusion, 
throbbing  with  gratitude  and  love  to  Jehovah,  the 
Deliverer. 

The  Davidic  authorship  of  this  psalm  has  been 
admitted  even  by  critics  who  are  slow  to  recognise  it. 
Cheyne  asks,  as  if  sure  of  a  negative  answer,  “  What 
is  there  in  it  that  suggests  the  history  of  David  ?  ” 
(“Orig.  of  Psalter,”  p.  205).  Baethgen,  who  “suspects” 
that  a  Davidic  psalm  has  been  “worked  over”  for  use  in 
public  worship,  may  answer  the  question  :  “  The  follow¬ 
ing  points  speak  for  the  Davidic  authorship.  The 
poet  is  a  military  commander  and  king,  who  wages 
successful  wars,  and  subdues  peoples  whom  he  hitherto 
did  not  know.  There  is  no  Israelite  king  to  whom 
the  expressions  in  question  in  the  psalm  apply  so 
closely  as  is  the  case  with  David.”  To  these  points 
may  be  added  the  allusions  to  earlier  trials  and  perils, 
and  the  distinct  correspondence,  in  a  certain  warmth 
and  inwardness  of  personal  relation  to  Jehovah,  with 
the  other  psalms  attributed  to  David,  as  well  as  the 
pregnant  use  of  the  word  to  flee  to  a  refuge ,  applied 


THE  PSALMS. 


167 


•  •  •  •% 
xvm.J 


to  the  soul's  flight  to  God,  which  we  find  here  (ver.  2) 
and  in  the  psalms  ascribed  to  him.  If  the  clear  notes 
of  the  psalm  be  the  voice  of  personal  experience,  there 
is  but  one  author  possible — namely,  David — and  the 
glow  and  intensity  of  the  whole  make  the  personifi¬ 
cation  theory  singularly  inadequate.  It  is  much  easier 
to  believe  that  David  used  the  word  “  temple”  or 
“ palace”  for  Jehovah’s  heavenly  dwelling,  than  that 
the  “  I ”  of  the  psalm,  with  his  clinging  sense  of  pos¬ 
session  in  Jehovah,  his  vivid  remembrance  of  sorrows, 
his  protestations  of  integrity,  his  wonder  at  his  own 
victories,  and  his  triumphant  praise,  is  not  a  man,  but 
a  frosty  personification  of  the  nation. 

The  preluding  invocation  in  vv.  1-3  at  once  touches 
the  high-water  mark  of  Old  Testament  devotion,  and 
is  conspicuous  among  its  noblest  utterances.  Nowhere 
else  in  Scripture  is  the  form  of  the  word  employed  which 
is  here  used  for  “love.”  It  has  special  depth  and 
tenderness.  How  far  into  the  centre  this  man  had 
penetrated,  who  could  thus  isolate  and  unite  Jehovah 
and  himself,  and  could  feel  that  they  two  were  alone 
and  knit  together  by  love !  The  true  estimate  of 
Jehovah’s  ways  with  a  man  will  always  lead  to  that 
resolve  to  love,  based  on  the  consciousness  of  God’s 
love  to  him.  Happy  they  who  learn  that  lesson  by 
retrospect ;  happier  still  if  they  gather  it  from  their 
sorrows  while  these  press !  Love  delights  in  address¬ 
ing  the  beloved  and  heaping  tender  names  on  its 
object,  each  made  more  tender  and  blessed  by  that 
appropriating  “  my;”  It  seems  more  accordant  with 
the  fervent  tone  of  the  psalm  to  regard  the  reiterated 
designations  in  ver.  2  as  vocatives,  than  to  take 
“Jehovah”  and  “God”  as  subjects  and  the  other 
names  as  predicates.  Rather  the  whole  is  one  long, 


THE  PSALMS . 


1 68 


loving  accumulation  of  dear  names,  a  series  of  invoca¬ 
tions,  in  which  the  restful  heart  murmurs  to  itself  how 
rich  it  is  and  is  never  wearied  of  saying,  “  my  delight 
and  defence.”  As  in  Psalm  xvii.,  the  name  of  Jehovah 
occurs  twice,  and  that  of  God  once.  Each  of  these  is 
expanded,  as  it  were,  by  the  following  epithets,  and 
the  expansion  becomes  more  extended  as  it  advances, 
beginning  with  one  member  in  ver.  I,  having  three 
in  ver.  2  a  and  four  in  ver.  2  b.  Leaving  out  the 
Divine  names  proper,  there  are  seven  in  ver.  2,  separ¬ 
ated  into  two  groups  by  the  name  of  God.  It  may  be 
observed  there  is  a  general  correspondence  between 
the  two  sets,  each  beginning  with  “  rock  ”  (though 
the  word  is  different  in  the  two  clauses),  each  having 
the  metaphor  of  a  fortress,  and  “  shield  and  horn  of 
salvation,”  roughly  answering  to  "  Deliverer.”  The 
first  word  for  rock  is  more  properly  crag  or  cliff, 
thus  suggesting  inaccessibility,  and  the  second  a  rock 
mass ,  thus  giving  the  notion  of  firmness  or  solidity. 
The  shade  of  difference  need  not  be  pressed,  but  the 
general  idea  is  that  of  safety,  or  by  elevation  above  the 
enemy  and  by  reason  of  the  unchangeable  strength  of 
Jehovah.  In  that  lofty  eyrie,  a  man  may  look  down 
on  all  the  armies  of  earth,  idly  active  on  the  plain. 
That  great  Rock  towers  unchangeable  aboce  fleeting 
things.  The  river  at  its  base  runs  past,  the  woods 
nestling  at  its  feet  bud  and  shed  their  leaves,  but  it 
stands  the  same.  David  had  many  a  time  found 
shelter  among  the  hills  and  caves  of  Judah  and  the 
South  land,  and  it  may  not  be  fancy  that  sees  reminis¬ 
cences  of  these  experiences  in  his  song.  The  beautiful 
figure  for  trust  embodied  in  the  word  in  2  b  belongs 
to  the  metaphor  of  the  rock.  It  is  found  with  singular 
appropriateness  in  Psalm  lvii.,  which  the  title  ascribes 


xviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


169 


to  David  “  in  the  cave,”  the  sides  of  which  bent  above 
him  and  sheltered  him,  like  a  great  pair  of  wings, 
and  possibly  suggested  the  image,  “  In  the  shadow 
of  Thy  wings  will  I  take  refuge.”  The  difference 
between  “  fortress  ”  and  “high  tower”  is  slight,  but 
the  former  gives  more  prominence  to  the  idea  of 
strength,  and  the  latter  to  that  of  elevation,  both 
concurring  in  the  same  thought  as  was  expressed  by 
“rock,”  but  with  the  additional  suggestion  of  Jehovah 
as  the  home  of  the  soul.  Safety,  then,  comes  through 
communion.  Abiding  in  God  is  seclusion  from  danger. 
“Deliverer”  stands  last  in  the  first  set,  saying  in  plain 
words  what  the  preceding  had  put  in  figures.  “My  shield 
and  the  horn  of  my  salvation  ”  come  in  the  centre  of  the 
second  set,  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  variety  in  reitera¬ 
tion  which  the  poet’s  artistic  instincts  impose.  They 
shift  the  figure  to  that  of  a  warrior  in  actual  conflict. 
The  others  picture  a  fugitive  from  enemies,  these  a 
fighter.  The  shield  is  a  defensive  weapon ;  horns  are 
offensive  ones,  and  the  combination  suggests  that  in 
conflict  we  are  safe  by  the  interposition  of  God’s  covering 
power,  and  are  armed  by  the  same  power  for  striking 
at  the  foe.  That  power  ensures  salvation,  whether  in 
the  narrower  or  wider  sense.  Thus  Jehovah  is  all  the 
armour  and  all  the  refuge  of  His  servant.  To  trust 
Him  is  to  have  His  protection  cast  around  and  His 
power  infused  for  conflict  and  victory.  The  end  of  all 
life’s  experience  is  to  reveal  Him  in  these  characters, 
and  they  have  rightly  learned  its  lessons  whose  song 
of  retrospect  begins  with  “  I  will  love  Thee,  Jehovah,” 
and  pours  out  at  His  feet  all  happy  names  expressive 
of  His  sufficiency  and  of  the  singer’s  rest  in  possessing 
Him.  Ver.  3  is  not  a  resolution  for  the  future — “  I 
will  call;  ...  so  shall  I  be  saved  ” — but  the  summing  up 


170 


THE  PSALMS. 


of  experience  in  a  great  truth :  “  I  call,  .  .  .  and  I  am 
saved.”  It  unfolds  the  meaning  of  the  previous  names  of 
God,  and  strikes  the  key-note  for  the  magnificent  sequel. 

The  superb  idealisation  of  past  deliverances  under 
the  figure  of  a  theophany  is  prepared  for  by  a  retro¬ 
spect  of  dangers,  which  still  palpitates  with  the  memory 
of  former  fears.  “A  sorrow’s  crown  of  sorrow  is 
remembering  happier  things,”  and  a  joy’s  crown  of  joy 
is  remembering  past  perils.  No  better  description  of 
David’s  early  life  could  have  been  given  than  that  con¬ 
tained  in  the  two  vivid  figures  of  vv.  4  and  5.  If  we 
adopt  the  more  congruous  reading  of  the  other  recension 
of  the  psalm  in  2  Sam.  xxii.,  we  have  in  both  members 
of  ver.  4  a  parallel  metaphor.  Instead  of  “  sorrows  ” 
or  “cords”  (both  of  which  renderings  are  possible 
for  the  text  of  the  psalm  here),  it  reads  “breakers,” 
corresponding  with  “  floods  ”  in  the  second  clause. 
“  Destruction  ”  is  better  than  ungodly  men  as  the  ren¬ 
dering  of  the  unusual  word  “Belial.”  Thus  the  psalmist 
pictures  himself  as  standing  on  a  diminishing  bit  of 
solid  ground,  round  which  a  rising  flood  runs  strong, 
breaking  on  its  crumbling  narrowness.  Islanded  thus, 
he  is  all  but  lost.  With  swift  transition  he  casts  the 
picture  of  his  distress  into  another  metaphor.  Now  he 
is  a  hunted  creature,  surrounded  and  confronted  by 
cords  and  snares.  Sheol  and  Death  have  marked  him 
for  their  prey,  and  are  drawing  their  nets  round  him. 
What  is  left  for  him  ?  One  thing  only.  He  has  a 
voice,  and  he  has  a  God.  In  his  despair  one  piercing 
cry  breaks  from  him ;  and,  wonder  of  wonders,  that 
thin  shoot  of  prayer  rises  right  into  the  heavenly  palace- 
temple  and  the  ears  of  God.  The  repetition  of  “  I 
called  upon  the  Lord  ”  connects  this  with  ver.  3  as  the 
experience  on  which  the  generalisation  there  is  based. 


•  •  •  *1 
XVlli.J 


THE  PSALMS . 


171 


His  extremity  of  peril  had  not  paralysed  the  psalmist’s 
grasp  of  God  as  still  “  my  God,”  and  his  confidence  is 
vindicated.  There  is  an  eloquent  contrast  between  the 
insignificance  of  the  cause  and  the  stupendous  grandeur 
of  the  effect :  one  poor  man’s  shrill  cry  and  a  shaking 
earth  and  all  the  dread  pomp  attending  an  interposing 
God.  A  cupful  of  water  poured  into  a  hydraulic  ram 
sets  in  motion  power  that  lifts  tons ;  the  prayer  of  faith 
brings  the  dread  magnificence  of  Jehovah  into  the  field. 
The  reading  of  2  Samuel  is  preferable  in  the  last  clause 
of  ver.  6,  omitting  the  superfluous  “before  Him.” 

The  phenomena  of  a  thunderstorm  are  the  sub¬ 
stratum  of  the  grand  description  of  Jehovah’s  delivering 
self-manifestation.  The  garb  is  lofty  poetry ;  but  a 
definite  fact  lies  beneath,  namely  some  deliverance  in 
which  the  psalmist  saw  Jehovah’s  coming  in  storm  and 
lightning  flash  to  destroy,  and  therefore  to  save.  Faith 
sees  more  truly  because  more  deeply  than  sense.  What 
would  have  appeared  to  an  ordinary  looker-on  as  merely 
a  remarkable  escape  was  to  its  subject  the  manifesta¬ 
tion  of  a  present  God.  Which  eye  sees  the  “  things 
that  are,” — that  which  is  cognisant  only  of  a  concatena¬ 
tion  of  events,  or  that  which  discerns  a  Person  directing 
these  ?  The  cry  of  this  hunted  man  has  for  first  effect 
the  kindling  of  the  Divine  “  wrath,”  which  is  represented 
as  flaming  into  action  in  the  tremendous  imagery  of 
vv.  7  and  8.  The  description  of  the  storm  in  which 
God  comes  to  help  the  suppliant  does  not  begin  with 
these  verses,  as  is  commonly  understood.  The  Divine 
power  is  not  in  motion  yet,  but  is,  as  it  were,  gathering 
itself  up  for  action.  The  complaining  prayer  is  boldly 
treated  as  bringing  to  God’s  knowledge  His  servant’s 
straits,  and  the  knowledge  as  moving  Him  to  wrath 
towards  the  enemies  of  one  who  takes  shelter  beneath 


,rv^ 


i 


172  THE  PSALMS. 

His  wings.  “What  have  I  here  that  my” — servant  is 
thus  bestead  ?  saith  the  Lord.  The  poet  can  venture 
to  paint  a  picture  with  the  pen,  which  the  painter  dare 
not  attempt  with  the  pencil.  The  anger  of  Jehovah  is 
described  in  words  of  singular  daring,  as  rising  like 
smoke  from  His  nostrils  and  pouring  in  fire  from  His 
lips,  from  which  blazing  brands  issue.  No  wonder  that 
the  earth  reels  even  to  the  roots  of  the  mountains,  as 
unable  to  endure  that  wrath  1  The  frank  anthropomor¬ 
phism  of  the  picture,  of  which  the  features  are  taken 
from  the  hard  breathing  of  an  angry  man  or  animal 
(compare  Job’s  crocodile  in  Job  xli.  10-13),  and  the 
underlying  conception  are  equally  offensive  to  many ; 
but  as  for  the  former,  the  more  “gross  ”  the  humanising 
of  the  picture,  the  less  likely  is  it  to  be  mistaken  for 
prose  fact,  and  the  more  easy  to  apprehend  as  symbol : 
and  as  for  the  latter,  the  New  Testament  endorses  the 
conception  of  the  “wrath  of  God,”  and  bids  us  take 
heed  lest,  if  we  cast  it  away,  we  maim  His  love.  This 
same  psalm  hymns  Jehovah’s  “gentleness”;  and  the 
more  deeply  His  love  is  apprehended,  the  more  surely 
will  His  wrath  be  discerned  as  its  necessary  accompani¬ 
ment.  The  dark  orb  and  its  radiant  sister  move  round 
a  common  centre. 

Thus  kindled,  God’s  wrath  flashes  into  action,  as  is 
wonderfully  painted  in  that  great  storm  piece  in  vv. 
9-15.  The  stages  of  a  violent  thunder  tempest  are 
painted  with  unsurpassable  force  and  brevity. 

First  we  see  the  low  clouds  :  far  nearer  the  trembling 
earth  than  the  hidden  blue  was,  and  seeming  to  press 
down  with  leaden  weight,  their  boding  blackness  is 
above  us;  but 

“  Whose  foot  shall  we  see  emerge, 

Whose  from  the  straining  topmost  dark  ?” 


xviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


173 


Their  low  gathering  is  followed  by  the  sudden  rush 
of  wind,  which  breaks  the  awful  calm.  In  its  “  sound,” 
the  psalmist  hears  the  winnowing  of  mighty  wings : 
those  of  the  cherub  on  whom,  as  a  living  chariot, 
Jehovah  sits  throned  This  is  called  “  mythology.”  Is 
it  not  rather  a  poetic  personification  of  elemental  powers, 
which  gives  emphasis  to  their  being  Gocfs  instruments  ? 
The  cherubim  are  in  Scripture  represented  in  varying 
forms  and  with  different  attributes.  In  Ezekiel  they 
assume  a  composite  form,  due  apparently  to  Babylonian 
influences ;  but  here  there  is  no  trace  of  that,  and  the 
absence  of  such  strongly  supports  a  pre-exilic  date. 

Blacker  grows  the  gloom,  in  which  awed  hearts  are 
conscious  of  a  present  Deity  shrouded  behind  the  livid 
folds  of  the  thunder-clouds,  as  in  a  tent.  Down 
rushes  the  rain ;  the  darkness  is  “a  darkness  of 
waters,”  and  also  “  thick  clouds  of  the  skies,”  or  “  cloud 
masses,”  a  mingled  chaos  of  rain  and  cloud.  Then 
lightning  tears  a  way  through  the  blackness,  and  the 
language  becomes  abrupt,  like  the  flash.  In  vv.  12 
and  13  the  fury  of  the  storm  rages.  Blinding  bright¬ 
ness  and  deafening  thunder-claps  gleam  and  rattle 
through  the  broken  words.  Probably  ver.  12  should 
be  rendered,  “  From  the  brightness  before  Him  there 
came  through  His  clouds  hail  and  brands  of  fire.” 
Hidden  in  the  cloudy  tent  is  the  light  of  Jehovah’s 
presence,  sparkles  from  which,  flung  forth  by  Him, 
pierce  the  solid  gloom ;  and  men  call  them  lightnings. 
Then  thunder  rolls,  the  voice  of  the  Most  High.  The 
repetition  in  ver.  13  of  “hail  and  brands  of  fire”  gives 
much  abrupt  force,  and  one  is  unwilling  to  part  with  it. 
The  reason  for  omitting  it  from  the  text  is  the  want  of 
grammatical  connection,  but  that  is  rather  a  reason  for 
retaining  it,  as  the  isolated  clause  breaks  in  on  the 


J  • 


174  THE  PSALMS 

continuity  of  the  sentence,  just  as  the  flash  shoots 
suddenly  out  of  the  cloud.  These  lightnings  are  God’s 
arrows ;  and,  as  they  are  showered  down  in  flights,  the 
psalmist’s  enemies,  unnamed  since  ver.  3,  scatter  in 
panic.  The  ideal  character  of  the  whole  representation 
is  plain  from  the  last  element  in  it — the  description  in 
ver.  1 5  of  laying  bare  the  sea’s  depths,  as  the  waters 
were  parted  at  the  Exodus.  That  voice  and  the  fierce 
blast  from  these  fire-breathing  nostrils  have  dried  the 
streams,  and  the  oozy  bed  is  seen.  God’s  “  rebuke  ” 
has  power  to  produce  physical  changes.  The  earth¬ 
quake  at  the  beginning  and  the  empty  ocean  bed 
at  the  end  are  both  somewhat  outside  the  picture 
of  the  storm,  and  complete  the  representation  of  all 
nature  as  moved  by  the  theophany. 

Then  comes  the  purpose  of  all  the  dread  magnifi¬ 
cence,  strangely  small  except  to  the  psalmist.  Heaven 
and  earth  have  been  shaken,  and  lightnings  set  leaping 
through  the  sky,  for  nothing  greater  than  to  drag  one 
half-drowned  man  from  the  floods.  But  the  result  of 
the  theophany  is  small  only  in  the  same  fashion  as  its 
cause  was  small.  This  same  poor  man  cried,  and  the 
cry  set  Jehovah’s  activity  in  motion.  The  deliverance 
of  a  single  soul  may  seem  a  small  thing,  but  if  the 
single  soul  has  prayed  it  is  no  longer  small,  for  God’s 
good  name  is  involved.  A  nation  is  disgraced  if  its 
meanest  subject  is  left  to  die  in  the  hands  of  foreign 
enemies,  and  blood  and  treasure  are  not  wasted  if 
poured  out  lavishly  for  his  rescue.  God  cannot  let  a 
suppliant  who  has  taken  shelter  in  His  tent  be  dragged 
thence.  Therefore  there  is  no  disproportion  between 
the  theophany  and  the  individual  deliverance  which 
is  its  sole  result. 

The  psalmist  lays  aside  the  figure  in  vv.  17,  18,  and 


xviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


175 


comes  to  the  bare  fact  of  his  deliverance  from  enemies, 
and  perhaps  from  one  especially  formidable  (“  my 
enemy,”  ver.  17).  The  prose  of  the  whole  would  have 
been  that  he  was  in  great  danger  and  without  means 
of  averting  it,  but  had  a  hair-breadth  escape.  But  the 
outside  of  a  fact  is  not  all  of  it ;  and  in  this  mystical 
life  of  ours  poetry  gets  nearer  the  heart  of  things  than 
does  prose,  and  religion  nearer  than  either.  It  is  no 
miracle,  in  the  narrow  meaning  of  that  word,  which 
the  psalmist  sings ;  but  his  eye  has  seen  the  unseen 
force  which  moves  all  visible  events.  We  may  see 
the  same  apocalypse  of  a  present  Jehovah,  if  our  eyes 
are  purged,  and  our  hearts  pure.  It  is  always  true  that 
the  cry  of  a  trustful  soul  pierces  heaven  and  moves 
God ;  it  is  always  true  that  He  comes  to  His  servant 
sinking  and  crying,  “Lord,  save  me;  I  perish.”  The 
scene  on  the  Galilean  lake  when  Christ’s  strong  grasp 
held  Peter  up,  because  his  fear  struck  out  a  spark  of 
faith,  though  his  faith  was  darkened  with  fear,  is  ever 
being  repeated. 

The  note  slightly  touched  at  the  close  of  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  deliverance  dominates  the  second  part  of 
the  psalm  (vv.  20-31),  of  which  the  main  theme  is 
the  correspondence  of  God’s  dealings  with  character, 
as  illustrated  in  the  singer’s  experience,  and  thence 
generalised  into  a  law  of  the  Divine  administration.  It 
begins  with  startling  protestations  of  innocence.  These 
are  rounded  into  a  whole  by  the  repetition,  at  the 
beginning  and  end,  of  the  same  statement  that  God 
dealt  with  the  psalmist  according  to  his  righteousness 
and  clean-handedness.  If  the  author  is  David,  this 
voice  of  a  good  conscience  must  have  been  uttered 
before  his  great  fall,  after  which  he  could,  indeed,  sing 
of  forgiveness  and  restoring  grace,  but  never  again  of 


176 


THE  PSALMS. 


integrity.  Unlike  as  the  tone  of  these  verses  is  to 
that  deeper  consciousness  of  sin  which  is  not  the 
least  of  Christ’s  gifts,  the  truth  which  they  embody 
is  as  much  a  part  of  the  Christian  as  of  the  earlier 
revelation.  True,  penitence  must  now  mingle  with 
conscious  rectitude  more  abundantly  than  it  does  in 
this  psalm ;  but  it  is  still  and  for  ever  true  that  God 
deals  with  His  servants  according  to  their  righteous¬ 
ness.  Cherished  sin  separates  from  Him,  and  forces 
His  love  to  leave  cries  for  help  many  times  unanswered, 
in  order  that,  filled  with  the  fruit  of  their  doings,  His 
people  may  have  a  wholesome  fear  of  again  straying 
from  the  narrow  way.  Unless  a  Christian  can  say, 
“  I  keep  myself  from  mine  iniquity,”  he  has  no  right 
to  look  for  the  sunshine  of  God’s  face  to  gladden  his 
eyes,  nor  for  the  strength  of  God’s  hand  to  pluck  his 
feet  from  the  net.  In  noble  and  daring  words,  the 
psalmist  proclaims  as  a  law  of  God’s  dealings  his  own 
experience  generalised  (vv.  25-27).  It  is  a  bold  reversal 
of  the  ordinary  point  of  view  to  regard  man  as  taking 
the  initiative  and  God  as  following  his  lead.  And  yet 
is  not  life  full  of  solemn  facts  confirmatory  of  the  truth 
that  God  is  to  a  man  what  the  man  is  to  God  ?  That 
is  so,  both  subjectively  and  objective^.  Subjectively 
our  conceptions  of  God  vary  with  our  moral  nature, 
and  objectively  the  dealings  of  God  are  moulded  accord¬ 
ing  to  that  nature.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  colour 
blindness  in  regard  to  the  Divine  character,  whereby 
some  men  cannot  see  the  green  of  faithful  love  or  the 
red  of  wrath,  but  each  beholds  that  in  God  which  his 
vision  fits  him  to  see ;  and  the  many-sided  dealings  of 
God  are  different  in  their  incidence  upon  different 
characters,  so  that  the  same  heat  melts  wax  and 
hardens  clay ;  and  further  the  actual  dealings  are 


xviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


>77 


accurately  adapted  to  the  state  of  their  objects,  so  that 
each  gets  what  he  needs  most :  the  loving  heart,  sweet 
love  tokens  from  the  Divine  Lover ;  the  perverse, 
thwartings  which  come  from  a  God  u  contrary  ”  to 
them  who  are  contrary  to  Him.  “  The  history  of 
the  world  is  the  judgment  of  the  world.”  But  the 
first  of  the  designations  of  character  in  ver.  25  hints 
that  before  man’s  initiative  had  been  God’s ;  for 
“  merciful  ”  is  the  pregnant  word  occurring  so  often 
in  the  Psalter,  and  so  impossible  to  translate  by  any 
one  word.  It  means,  as  we  have  already  had  occasion 
to  point  out,  one  who  is  the  subject  of  the  Divine 
loving-kindness,  and  who  therefore  loves  God  in  return. 
Here  it  seems  rather  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  loving 
than  of  beloved.  He  who  exercises  this  loving-kind¬ 
ness,  whether  towards  God  or  man,  shall  find  in  God 
One  who  exercises  it  to  him.  But  the  word  itself 
regards  man’s  loving-kindness  towards  God  as  being 
the  echo  of  God’s,  and  so  the  very  first  step  in  deter¬ 
mining  the  mutual  relations  is  God’s,  and  but  for  it 
there  would  never  have  been  that  in  man  which  God 
could  answer  by  showing  Himself  as  loving.  The 
contrasted  dealings  and  characters  are  summed  up  in 
the  familiar  antithesis  of  ver.  27.  The  “  afflicted  ”  or 
humble  are  the  type  of  God-pleasing  character,  since 
humility,  such  as  befits  dependent  creatures,  is  the 
mother  of  all  goodness,  and  “  high  looks  ”  the  master 
sin,  and  the  whole  drift  of  Providence  is  to  lift  the 
lowly  and  abase  the  proud. 

The  psalmist’s  swift  thought  vibrates  throughout 
this  part  of  the  song  between  his  own  experience  and 
the  general  truths  exemplified  in  it.  He  is  too  full  of 
his  own  deliverance  to  be  long  silent  about  it,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  continually  reminded  by  it  of 

12 


i78 


THE  PSALMS. 


the  wide  sweep  of  the  beneficent  laws  which  have  been 
so  fruitful  of  good  to  him.  The  most  precious  result 
of  individual  mercy  is  the  vision  obtained  through  it  of 
the  universal  Lover  of  souls.  u  My  God  ”  will  be 
widened  into  “  our  God,”  and  “  our  God  ”  will  rest 
upon  “  my  God,”  if  either  is  spoken  from  the  heart’s 
depths.  So  in  vv.  27-29  the  personal  element  comes 
again  to  the  front.  The  individualising  name  11  My 
God  ”  occurs  in  each  verse,  and  the  deliverance  under¬ 
lying  the  theophany  is  described  in  terms  which 
prepare  for  the  fuller  celebration  of  victory  in  the  last 
part  of  the  psalm.  God  lights  the  psalmist’s  lamp,  by 
which  is  meant  not  the  continuance  of  his  family  (as 
the  expression  elsewhere  means),  but  the  preservation 
of  his  own  life,  with  the  added  idea,  especially  in 
ver.  28  by  of  prosperity.  Ver.  29  tells  how  the  lamp 
was  kept  alight,  namely  by  the  singer’s  victory  in  actual 
battle,  in  which  his  swift  rush  had  overtaken  the  enemy, 
and  his  agile  limbs  had  scaled  their  walls.  The  parallel¬ 
ism  of  the  clauses  is  made  more  complete  by  the 
emendation  adopted  by  Lagarde,  Cheyne,  Baethgen, 
etc  ,  who  read  ver.  29  a ,  “  I  [can]  break  down  a  fence,” 
but  this  is  unnecessary.  The  same  combination  of 
running  and  climb1’ ng  occurs  in  Joel  ii.  7,  and  the  two 
clauses  of  ver.  33  seem  to  repeat  those  of  ver.  29. 
The  swift,  agile  warrior,  then,  traces  these  physical 
powers  to  God,  as  he  does  more  at  large  in  later  verses. 

Once  more,  the  song  passes,  in  ver.  30,  to  the 
wider  truths  taught  by  the  personal  deliverance.  “  Our 
God  ”  takes  the  place  of  “  my  God  ”  ;  and  “  all  who  take 
refuge  in  Him  ”  are  discerned  as  gathering,  a  shadowy 
crowd,  round  the  solitary  psalmist,  and  as  sharing  in 
his  blessings.  The  large  truths  of  these  verses  are 
the  precious  fruit  of  distress  and  deliverance.  Both 


xviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


179 


have  cleared  the  singer’s  eyes  to  see,  and  tuned  his  lips 
to  sing,  a  God  whose  doings  are  without  a  flaw,  whose 
word  is  like  pure  gold  without  alloy  or  falsehood,  whose 
ample  protection  shields  all  who  flee  to  its  shelter,  who 
alone  is  God,  the  fountain  of  strength,  who  stands  firm 
for  ever,  the  inexpugnable  defence  and  dwelling-place 
of  men.  This  burst  of  pure  adoration  echoes  the  tones 
of  the  glorious  beginning  of  the  psalm.  Happy  they 
who,  as  the  result  of  life’s  experience,  solve  “  the  riddle 
of  this  painful  earth,”  with  these  firm  and  jubilant 
convictions  as  the  very  foundation  of  their  being. 

The  remainder  of  the  psalm  (ver.  32  to  end)  describes 
the  victorious  campaign  of  the  psalmist  and  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  his  kingdom.  There  is  difficulty  in  deter¬ 
mining  the  tenses  of  the  verbs  in  some  verses,  and 
interpreters  vary  between  pasts  and  futures.  The 
inclination  of  the  greater  number  of  recent  commentators 
is  to  carry  the  historical  retrospect  uninterruptedly 
through  the  whole  context,  which,  as  Hupfeld  acknow¬ 
ledges,  il  allerdings  das  bequemste  ist,”  and  those  who 
suppose  occasional  futures  interspersed  (as  the  R.V. 
and  Hupfeld)  differ  in  the  places  of  their  introduction. 
u  Everything  here  is  retrospective,”  says  Delitzsch,  and 
certainly  that  view  is  simplest  and  gives  unity  to  the 
whole.  The  name  of  God  is  never  mentioned  in  the 
entire  section,  except  as  vainly  invoked  by  the  flying 
foe.  Not  till  the  closing  doxologies  does  it  appear 
again,  with  the  frequency  which  marks  the  middle  part 
of  the  psalm.  A  similar  sparse  use  of  it  characterises 
the  description  of  the  theophany.  In  both  cases  there 
is  a  peculiar  force  given  by  the  stream  of  verbs  without 
expressed  nominatives.  The  hurrying  clauses  here 
vividly  reproduce  the  haste  of  battle,  and  each  falls 
like  the  blow  of  a  battle  mace  wielded  by  a  strong  arm. 


i8o 


THE  PSALMS. 


The  equipment  of  the  king  for  the  fight  (vv.  32-36),  the 
fierce  assault,  flight  of  the  foe  and  their  utter  annihi¬ 
lation  (vv.  37-42),  the  extension  by  conquest  of  the 
singer’s  kingdom  (vv.  43,  44),  successively  pass  before 
us  as  we  listen  to  the  panting  words  with  the  heat 
of  battle  in  them  ;  and  all  rises  at  last  into  exuberant 
praise,  which  re-echoes  some  strains  of  the  introductory 
burst  of  thanksgiving. 

Many  mythologies  have  told  how  the  gods  arm 
their  champions,  but  the  psalmist  reaches  a  loftier 
height  than  these.  He  ventures  to  think  of  God  as 
doing  the  humble  office  of  bracing  on  his  girdle,  but 
the  girdle  is  itself  strength.  God,  whose  own  “  way 
is  perfect  ”  (ver.  30),  makes  His  servant’s  “  way  ”  in 
some  measure  like  His  own ;  and  though,  no  doubt, 
the  figure  must  be  interpreted  in  a  manner  congruous 
with  its  context,  as  chiefly  implying  “  perfection  ”  in 
regard  to  the  purpose  in  hand — namely,  warfare — we 
need  not  miss  the  deeper  truth  that  God’s  soldiers  are 
fitted  for  conflict  by  their  “  ways  ”  being  conformed  to 
God’s.  This  man’s  “strength  was  as  the  strength  of 
ten,  because  his  heart  was  pure.”  Strength  and 
swiftness  are  the  two  characteristics  of  antique  heroes, 
and  God’s  gift  bestowed  both  on  the  psalmist.  Light 
of  foot  as  a  deer  and  able  to  climb  to  the  robber 
forts  perched  on  crags,  as  a  chamois  would,  his 
hands  deft,  and  his  muscular  arms  strong  to  bend 
the  bow  which  others  could  not  use,  he  is  the  ideal 
of  a  warrior  of  old ;  and  all  these  natural  powers  he 
again  ascribes  to  God’s  gift.  A  goddess  gave  Achilles 
his  wondrous  shield,  but  what  was  it  to  that  which 
God  binds  upon  this  warrior’s  arm  ?  As  his  girdle 
was  strength,  and  not  merely  a  means  of  strength, 
his  shield  is  salvation,  and  not  merely  a  means  of 


xviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


181 


safety.  The  fact  that  God  purposes  to  save  and  does 
act  for  saving  is  the  defence  against  all  dangers  and 
enemies.  It  is  the  same  deep  truth  as  the  prophet 
expresses  by  making  “salvation  ”  the  walls  and  bulwarks 
of  the  strong  city  where  the  righteous  nation  dwells 
in  peace.  God  does  not  thus  arm  His  servant  and  then 
send  him  out  alone  to  fight  as  he  can,  but  “  Thy  right 
hand  holds  me  up.”  What  assailant  can  beat  him 
down,  if  that  hand  is  under  his  armpit  to  support 
him  ?  The  beautiful  rendering  of  the  A.V.,  “  Thy 
gentleness,”  scarcely  conveys  the  meaning,  and  weakens 
the  antithesis  with  the  psalmist’s  “greatness,”  which 
is  brought  out  by  translating  “  Thy  lowliness,”  or  even 
more  boldly  “Thy  humility.”  There  is  that  in  God 
which  answers  to  the  peculiarly  human  virtue  of  low¬ 
liness  ;  and  unless  there  were,  man  would  remain  small 
and  unclothed  with  God-given  strength.  The  devout 
soul  thrills  with  wonder  at  God’s  stooping  love,  which 
it  discerns  to  be  the  foundation  of  all  His  gifts  and 
therefore  of  its  blessedness.  This  singer  saw  deep 
into  the  heart  of  God,  and  anticipated  the  great  word 
of  the  one  Revealer,  “  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart.” 
But  God’s  care  for  him  does  not  merely  fit  him  for  the 
fight :  it  also  orders  circumstances  so  as  to  give  him 
a  free  course.  Having  made  his  “  feet  like  hinds’  feet,” 
God  then  prepares  paths  that  he  should  walk  in  them. 
The  work  is  only  half  done  when  the  man  is  endowed 
for  service  or  conflict ;  a  field  for  his  powers  must  be 
forthcoming,  and  God  will  take  care  that  no  strength 
given  by  Him  lies  idle  for  want  of  a  wrestling  ground. 
.Sooner  or  later  feet  find  the  road. 

Then  follow  six  verses  (37-42)  full  of  the  stir  and 
tumult  of  battle.  There  is  no  necessity  for  the  change 
to  futures  in  the  verbs  of  vv.  37,  38,  which  the  R.V* 


THE  PSALMS. 


1S2 


adopts.  The  whole  is  a  picture  of  past  conflict,  for 
which  the  psalmist  had  been  equipped  by  God.  It 
is  a  literal  fight,  the  triumph  of  which  still  glows  in 
the  singer’s  heart  and  flames  in  his  vivid  words.  We 
see  him  in  swift  pursuit,  pressing  hard  on  the  enemy, 
crushing  them  with  his  fierce  onset,  trampling  them 
under  foot.  They  break  and  flee,  shrieking  out  prayers, 
which  the  pursuer  has  a  stern  joy  in  knowing  to  be 
fruitless.  His  blows  fall  like  those  of  a  great  pestle, 
and  crush  the  fleeing  wretches,  who  are  scattered  by 
his  irresistible  charge,  like  dust  whirled  bv  the  storm. 
The  last  clause  of  the  picture  of  the  routed  foe  is 
better  given  by  the  various  reading  in  2  Samuel,  which 
requires  only  a  very  slight  alteration  in  one  letter : 
“  I  did  stamp  them  as  the  mire  of  the  streets.”  Such 
delight  in  the  enemy’s  despair  and  destruction,  such 
gratification  at  hearing  their  vain  cries  to  Jehovah,  are 
far  away  from  Christian  sentiments  ;  and  the  gulf  is 
not  wholly  bridged  by  the  consideration  that  the 
psalmist  felt  himself  to  be  God’s  anointed,  and  enmity 
to  him  to  be  treason  against  God.  Most  natural  as 
his  feelings  were,  perfectly  consistent  with  the  level 
of  religion  proper  to  the  then  stage  of  revelation, 
capable  of  being  purified  into  that  triumph  in  the 
victory  of  good  and  ruin  of  evil  without  which  there 
is  no  vigorous  sympathy  with  Christ’s  battle,  and 
kindling  as  they  do  by  their  splendid  energy  and 
condensed  rapidity  an  answering  glow  in  even  readers 
so  far  away  from  their  scene  as  we  are,  they  are  still 
of  “  another  spirit  ”  from  that  which  Christ  has  breathed 
into  the  Church,  and  nothing  but  confusion  and  mischief 
can  come  of  slurring  over  the  difference.  The  light  ot 
battle  which  blazes  in  them  is  not  the  fire  which  Jesus 
longed  to  kindle  upon  earth. 


xviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


183 


Thus  far  the  enemies  seem  to  have  been  native  foes 
rebelling  against  God’s  anointed  or,  if  the  reference 
to  the  Sauline  persecution  is  held  by,  seeking  to  prevent 
his  reaching  his  throne.  But,  in  the  concluding  verses 
of  this  part  (43-45),  a  transition  is  made  to  victory 
over  “  strangers,”  i.e.  foreign  nations.  “  The  strivings 
of  the  people  ”  seems  to  point  back  to  the  war  described 
already,  while  “  Thou  hast  made  me  the  head  of  the 
nations  ”  refers  to  external  conquests.  In  2  Samuel 
the  reading  is  “my  people,”  which  would  bring  out 
the  domestic  reference  more  strongly ;  but  the  suffix 
for  “  my  ”  may  be  a  defective  form  of  writing  the 
plural ;  if  so,  the  peoples  in  ver.  43  a  are  the  “  nations  ” 
of  43  b.  In  any  case  the  royal  singer  celebrates  the 
extension  of  his  dominion.  The  tenses  in  vv.  44,  45, 
which  the  R.  V.  again  gives  as  futures  (as  does  Hupfeld), 
are  better  regarded,  like  all  the  others,  as  pasts.  The 
wider  dominion  is  not  inconsistent  with  Davidic  origin, 
as  his  conquests  were  extended  beyond  the  territory 
of  Israel.  The  picture  of  the  hasty  surrender  of  the 
enemy  at  the  very  sound  of  the  conqueror’s  name  is 
graphic.  “They  lied  unto  me,”  as  the  words  in 
ver.  44  b  are  literally,  gives  forcibly  the  feigned  sub¬ 
mission  covering  bitter  hate.  “  They  fade  away,”  as 
if  withered  by  the  simoom,  the  hot  blast  of  the  psalmist’s 
conquering  power.  “They  come  trembling  [or,  as 
2  Samuel  reads,  come  limping]  from  their  strongholds.’ 

Vv.  46  to  end  make  a  noble  close  to  a  noble  hymn, 
in  which  the  singer’s  strong  wing  never  flags  nor  the 
rush  of  thought  and  feeling  slackens.  Even  more 
absolutely  than  in  the  rest  of  the  psalm  every  victory 
is  ascribed  to  Jehovah.  He  alone  acts ;  the  psalmist 
is  simply  the  recipient.  To  have  learned  by  life’s 
struggles  and  deliverances  that  Jehovah  is  a  living  God 


1 84 


THE  PSALMS. 


and  u  my  Rock  ”  is  to  have  gathered  life’s  best  fruit.  A 
morning  of  tempest  has  cleared  into  sunny  calm,  as  it 
always  will,  if  tempest  drives  to  God.  He  who  cries 
to  Jehovah  when  the  floods  of  destruction  make  him 
afraid  will  in  due  time  have  to  set  to  his  seal  that 
Jehovah  liveth.  If  we  begin  with  “  The  Lord  is 
my  Rock,”  we  shall  end  with  "  Blessed  be  my  Rock.” 
Thankfulness  does  not  weary  of  reiterating  acknow¬ 
ledgments  ;  and  so  the  psalmist  gathers  up  once  more 
the  main  points  of  the  psalm  in  these  closing  strains 
and  lays  all  his  mass  of  blessings  at  the  feet  of  the 
Giver.  His  deliverance  from  his  domestic  foes  and 
his  conquests  over  external  enemies  are  wholly  God’s 
work,  and  therefore  supply  both  impulse  and  material 
for  praises  which  shall  sound  out  beyond  the  limits 
of  Israel.  The  vow  to  give  thanks  among  the  nations 
has  been  thought  fatal  to  the  Davidic  origin  of  the 
psalm.  Seeing,  however,  that  some  foreign  peoples 
were  conquered  by  him,  there  was  opportunity  for  its 
fulfilment.  His  function  to  make  known  the  name  of 
Jehovah  was  the  reason  for  his  victories.  David  had 
learned  the  purpose  of  his  elevation,  and  recognised  in 
an  extended  kingdom  a  wider  audience  for  his  song. 
Therefore  Paul  penetrates  to  the  heart  of  the  psalm 
when  he  quotes  ver.  49  in  Rom.  xv.  9  as  a  proof 
that  the  evangelising  of  the  Gentiles  was  an  Old 
Testament  hope.  The  plain  lesson  from  the  psalmist’s 
vow  is  that  God’s  mercies  bind,  and  if  felt  aright  will 
joyfully  impel,  the  receiver  to  spread  His  name  as  far 
as  his  voice  can  reach.  Love  is  sometimes  silent,  but 
gratitude  must  speak.  The  most  unmusical  voice  is 
tuned  to  melody  by  thankfulness,  and  they  need  never 
want  a  theme  who  can  tell  what  the  Lord  has  done  for 
their  soul. 


xviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


185 


The  last  verse  of  the  psalm  is  sometimes  regarded 
as  a  liturgical  addition,  and  the  mention  of  David 
gratuitously  supposed  to  be  adverse  to  his  authorship, 
but  there  is  nothing  unnatural  in  a  king’s  mentioning 
himself  in  such  a  connection  nor  in  the  reference  to 
his  dynasty,  which  is  evidently  based  upon  the  promise 
of  perpetual  dominion  given  through  Nathan.  The 
Christian  reader  knows  how  much  more  wonderful 
than  the  singer  knew  was  the  mercy  granted  to  the 
king  in  that  great  promise,  fulfilled  in  the  Son  of  David, 
whose  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  wh( 
bears  God’s  name  to  all  the  nations. 


PSALM  XIX. 


1  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God, 

And  the  work  of  His  hands  the  firmament  makes  known. 

2  Day  to  day  pours  forth  speech, 

And  night  to  night  shows  knowledge. 

3  There  is  no  speech  and  no  words ; 

Not  heard  is  their  voice. 

4  In  all  the  earth  their  line  goes  forth,  and  in  the- end  of  the  world 

their  words ; 

For  the  sun  has  He  set  a  tent  in  them, 

5  And  he  is  like  a  bridegroom  going  out  from  his  chamber  ; 

He  rejoices  like  a  hero  to  run  (his)  course. 

6  From  the  end  of  the  heavens  is  his  going  forth,  and  his  circuit  unto 

their  ends ; 

And  nothing  is  hid  from  his  heat. 

7  The  law  of  Jehovah  is  perfect,  restoring  the  soul ; 

The  testimony  of  Jehovah  is  trusty,  making  wise  the  simple. 

8  The  precepts  of  Jehovah  are  right,  rejoicing  the  heart; 

The  commandment  of  Jehovah  is  pure,  enlightening  the  eyes. 

9  The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  clean,  standing  for  ever; 

The  judgments  of  Jehovah  are  truth  :  they  are  righteous  alto¬ 
gether. 

10  They  are  more  to  be  desired  than  gold  and  than  abundant  [gold] 

refined, 

And  they  are  sweeter  than  honey  and  the  droppings  of  the  honey¬ 
comb. 

11  Moreover,  Thy  servant  is  warned  by  them  ; 

In  keeping  them  is  reward  abundant. 

12  Inadvertencies  who  can  discern  ? 

From  hidden  sins  absolve  me. 

13  Also  from  presumptuous  [sins]  keep  back  Thy  servant :  let  them 

not  rule  over  me  ; 

Then  shall  I  be  guiltless,  and  I  shall  be  absolved  from  great 
transgression. 


186 


xix.  ] 


THE  PSALMS. 


187 


14  Accepted  be  the  words  of  my  mouth  and  meditation  of  my  heart 
in  Thy  sight, 

Jehovah,  my  Rock  and  my  Kinsman-redeemer  ! 

IS  this  originally  one  psalm  or  bits  of  two,  pieced 
together  to  suggest  a  comparison  between  the  two 
sources  of  knowledge  of  God,  which  the  authors  did 
not  dream  of  ?  The  affirmative  is  strongly  maintained, 
but,  we  may  venture  to  say,  not  so  strongly  sustained. 
The  two  parts  are  said  to  differ  in  style,  rhythm,  and 
subject.  Certainly  they  do,  but  the  difference  in  style 
accounts  for  the  difference  in  structure.  It  is  not  an 
unheard-of  phenomenon  that  cadence  should  change 
with  theme  ;  and  if  the  very  purpose  of  the  song  is  to 
set  forth  the  difference  of  the  two  witnesses  to  God, 
nothing  can  be  more  likely  than  such  a  change  in 
measure.  The  two  halves  are  said  to  be  put  together 
abruptly  without  anything  to  smooth  the  transition. 
So  they  are,  and  so  is  ver.  4  put  by  the  side  of  ver.  3  ; 
and  so  does  the  last  turn  of  thought  (vv.  12- 1 4)  follow 
the  second.  Cyclopean  architecture  without  mortar  has 
a  certain  impressiveness.  The  abruptness  is  rather  an 
argument  for  than  against  the  original  unity,  for  a 
compiler  would  have  been  likely  to  try  to  make  some 
sort  of  glue  to  hold  his  two  fragments  together,  while 
a  poet,  in  the  rush  of  his  afflatus,  would  welcome  the 
very  abruptness  which  the  manufacturer  would  avoid. 
Surely  the  thought  that  binds  the  whole  into  a  unity — 
that  Jehovah  is  El ,  and  that  nature  and  law  witness  to 
the  same  Divine  Person,  though  with  varying  clearness — 
is  not  so  strange  as  that  we  should  have  to  find  its 
author  in  some  late  editor  unknown. 

Vv.  1-6  hymn  the  silent  declaration  by  the  heavens. 
The  details  of  exposition  must  first  be  dealt  with. 
“  Declare"  and  “makes  known"  are  participles,  and  thus 


i88 


THE  PSALMS. 


express  the  continuity  of  the  acts.  The  substance  of  the 
witness  is  set  forth  with  distinct  reference  to  its  limita¬ 
tions,  for  “  glory  ”  has  here  no  moral  element,  but 
simply  means  what  Paul  calls  “  eternal  power  and  God¬ 
head,”  while  the  Divine  name  of  God  (“  El  ”)  is  used  in 
intended  contrast  to  “Jehovah”  in  the  second  half,  a 
nuance  which  must  be  obliterated  if  this  is  a  con¬ 
glomerate  psalm.  "  His  handiwork,”  in  like  manner, 
limits  the  revelation.  The  heavens  by  day  are  so 
marvellously  unlike  the  heavens  by  night  that  the 
psalmist’s  imagination  conjures  up  two  long  processions, 
each  member  of  which  passes  on  the  word  entrusted 
to  him  to  his  successor — the  blazing  days  with  heaven 
naked  but  for  one  great  light,  and  the  still  nights  with 
all  their  stars.  Ver.  3  has  given  commentators  much 
trouble  in  attempting  to  smooth  its  paradox.  Tastes 
are  curiously  different,  for  some  critics  think  that  the 
familiar  interpretation  gives  a  flat,  prosaic  meaning, 
while  Cheyne  takes  the  verse  to  be  a  gloss  for  dull 
readers,  and  exclaims,  “  How  much  the  brilliant  psalm 
fragment  gains  by  its  omission !  ”  De  guslibus ,  etc. 
Some  of  us  may  still  feel  that  the  psalmist’s  contrast 
of  the  awful  silence  in  the  depths  of  the  sky  and  of 
the  voice  that  speaks  to  opened  ears  thrills  us  with 
something  very  like  the  electric  touch  of  poetry.  In 
ver.  4  the  thought  of  the  great  voices  returns.  “  Their 
line”  is  usually  explained  as  meaning  their  sphere  of 
influence,  marked  out,  as  it  were,  by  a  measuring  cord. 
If  that  rendering  is  adopted,  ver.  4  b  would  in  effect 
say,  “  Their  words  go  as  far  as  their  realm.”  Or  the 
rendering  “  sound  ”  may  be  deduced,  though  somewhat 
precariously,  from  that  of  line,  since  a  line  stretched  is 
musical.  But  the  word  is  not  used  as  meaning  the 
string  of  an  instrument,  and  the  vei  y  slight  conjectural 


THE  PSALMS. 


189 


xix.] 

emendation  which  gives  "  voice  ”  instead  of  “  line  ”  has 
much  to  recommend  it.  In  any  case  the  teaching  of  the 
verse  is  plain  from  the  last  clause,  namely  the  univer¬ 
sality  of  the  revelation.  It  is  singular  that  the  mention 
of  the  sun  should  come  in  the  close  of  the  verse ;  and 
there  may  be  some  error  in  the  text,  though  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  the  sun  here  may  be  explained  as  completing 
the  picture  of  the  heavens,  of  which  it  is  the  crowning 
glory.  Then  follows  the  fuller  delineation  of  his  joyous 
energy,  of  his  swift  strength  in  his  course,  of  his  pene¬ 
trating  beams,  illuminating  and  warming  all.  Why 
should  the  glowing  metaphors,  so  natural  and  vigorous, 
of  the  sun  coming  forth  from  his  bridal  chamber  and, 
hero-like,  running  his  race,  be  taken  to  be  traces  of 
ancient  myths  now  innocently  reclaimed  from  the  service 
of  superstition  ?  To  find  in  these  two  images  a  proof 
that  the  first  part  of  the  psalm  belongs  to  the  post- 
exilic  11  literary  revival  of  Hebrew  mythology  ”  is  surely 
to  lay  more  on  them  than  they  can  bear. 

The  scientific  contemplation  of  nature  is  wholly 
absent  from  Scripture,  and  the  picturesque  is  very  rare. 
This  psalmist  knew  nothing  about  solar  spectra  or 
stellar  distances,  but  he  heard  a  voice  from  out  of  the 
else  waste  heavens  which  sounded  to  him  as  if  it 
named  God.  Comte  ventured  to  say  that  the  heavens 
declare  the  glory  of  the  astronomer,  not  of  God ;  but, 
if  there  be  an  order  in  them,  which  it  is  a  man’s  glory 
to  discover,  must  there  not  be  a  mind  behind  the  order, 
and  must  not  the  Maker  have  more  glory  than  the 
investigator  ?  The  psalmist  is  protesting  against  stellar 
worship,  which  some  of  his  neighbours  practised. 
The  sun  was  a  creature,  not  a  god ;  his  "  race  ”  was 
marked  out  by  the  same  hand  which  in  depths  beyond 
the  visible  heavens  had  pitched  a  “tent”  for  his  nightly 


190 


THE  PSALMS. 


rest.  We  smile  at  the  simple  astronomy ;  the  religious 
depth  is  as  deep  as  ever.  Dull  ears  do  not  hear  these 
voices ;  but  whether  they  are  stopped  with  the  clay  of 
earthly  tastes  and  occupations,  or  stuffed  with  scientific 
wadding  of  the  most  modern  kind,  the  ears  that  do 
not  hear  God’s  name  sounded  from  the  abysses  above, 
have  failed  to  hear  the  only  word  which  can  make  man 
feel  at  home  in  nature.  Carlyle  said  that  the  sky  was 
“  a  sad  sicht.”  The  sadness  and  awfulness  are  taken 
away  when  we  hear  the  heavens  telling  the  glory  of 
God.  The  unscientific  psalmist  who  did  hear  them  was 
nearer  the  very  heart  of  the  mystery  than  the  scientist 
who  knows  everything  else  about  them  blit  that. 

With  an  abrupt  transition  which  is  full  of  poetical 
force,  the  singer  turns  to  the  praises  of  the  better 
revelation  of  Jehovah.  Nature  speaks  in  eloquent 
silence  of  the  strong  God,  but  has  no  witness  to  His 
righteous  will  for  men  or  His  love  to  them  which  can 
compare  with  the  clear  utterances  of  His  law.  The 
rhythm  changes,  and  in  its  cadence  expresses  the 
psalmist’s  exuberant  delight  in  that  law.  In  vv. 
7-1 1  the  clauses  are  constructed  on  a  uniform  plan, 
each  containing  a  name  for  the  law,  an  attribute  of  it, 
and  one  of  its  effects.  The  abundance  of  synonyms 
indicates  familiarity  and  clear  views  of  the  many  sides 
of  the  subject.  The  psalmist  had  often  brooded  on  the 
thought  of  what  that  law  was,  because,  loving  its  Giver, 
he  must  needs  love  the  gift.  So  he  calls  it  “law,”  or 
teaching,  since  there  he  found  the  best  lessons  for 
character  and  life.  It  was  “  testimony,”  for  in  it  God 
witnessed  what  He  is  and  what  we  should  be,  and  so 
witnessed  against  sin  ;  it  was  a  body  of  “  precepts  ” 
(statutes,  A.V.)  giving  rich  variety  of  directions ;  it  was 
“commandment,”  blessedly  imperative  ;  it  was  “fear  of 


XIX.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


191 

the  Lord,”  the  effect  being  put  for  the  cause ;  it  was 
“judgments,”  the  decisions  of  infinite  truth  concerning 
duty. 

These  synonyms  have  each  an  attribute  attached, 
which,  together,  give  a  grand  aggregate  of  qualities 
discerned  by  a  devout  heart  to  inhere  in  that  law 
which  is  to  so  many  but  a  restraint  and  a  foe.  It  is 
“perfect,”  as  containing  without  flaw  or  defect  the  ideal 
of  conduct ;  “  sure  ”  or  reliable,  as  worthy  of  being  ab¬ 
solutely  followed  and  certain  to  be  completely  fulfilled ; 
“  right,”  as  prescribing  the  straight  road  to  man’s  true 
goal ;  “  pure  ”  or  bright,  as  being  light  like  the  sun,  but 
of  a  higher  quality  than  that  material  brilliance ; 
“clean,”  as  contrasted  with  the  foulness  bedaubing  false 
faiths  and  making  idol  worship  unutterably  loathsome  ; 
“  true  ”  and  “  wholly  righteous,”  as  corresponding 
accurately  to  the  mind  of  Jehovah  and  the  facts  of 
humanity  and  as  being  in  full  accordance  with  the 
justice  which  has  its  seat  in  the  bosom  of  God. 

The  effects  are  summed  up  in  the  latter  clauses  of 
these  verses,  which  stand,  as  it  were,  a  little  apart,  and 
by  the  slight  pause  are  made  more  emphatic.  The 
rhythm  rises  and  falls  like  the  upspringing  and  sinking 
of  a  fountain.  The  law  “restores  the  soul,”  or  rather 
refreshes  the  life,  as  food  does ;  it  “  makes  the  simple 
wise  ”  by  its  sure  testimony,  giving  practical  guidance 
to  narrow  understandings  and  wills  open  to  easy  be¬ 
guiling  by  sin;  it  “rejoices  the  heart,”  since  there  is 
no  gladness  equal  to  that  of  knowing  and  doing  the 
will  of  God ;  it  “  enlightens  the  eyes  ”  with  brightness 
beyond  that  of  the  created  light  which  rules  the  day. 
Then  the  relation  of  clauses  changes  slightly  in  ver.  9, 
and  a  second  attribute  takes  the  place  of  the  effect.  It 
“endures  for  ever,”  and,  as  we  have  seen,  is  “wholly 


192 


THE  PSALMS. 


righteous.”  The  Old  Testament  law  was  relatively 
imperfect  and  destined  to  be  done  away,  but  the  moral 
core  of  it  abides.  Being  more  valuable  than  all  other 
treasures,  there  is  wealth  in  the  very  desire  after  it 
more  than  in  possessing  these.  Loved,  it  yields 
sweetness  in  comparison  with  which  the  delights  of 
sense  are  bitter  ;  done,  it  automatically  rewards  the  doer. 
If  obedience  had  no  results  except  its  inward  conse¬ 
quences,  it  would  be  abundantly  repaid.  Every  true 
servant  of  Jehovah  will  be  willing  to  be  warned  by  that 
voice,  even  though  it  rebuke  and  threaten. 

All  this  rapture  of  delight  in  the  law  contrasts  with 
the  impatience  and  dislike  which  some  men  entertain  for 
it.  To  the  disobedient  that  law  spoils  their  coarse  grati¬ 
fications.  It  is  as  a  prison  in  which  life  is  wearisomely 
barred  from  delights ;  but  they  who  dwell  behind  its 
fences  know  that  these  keep  evils  off,  and  that  within 
are  calm  joys  and  pure  pleasures. 

The  contemplation  of  the  law  cannot  but  lead  to 
self-examination,  and  that  to  petition.  So  the  psalmist 
passes  into  prayer.  His  shortcomings  appal,  for  “  by 
the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin,”  and  he  feels  that 
beyond  the  sin  which  he  knows,  there  is  a  dark  region 
in  him  where  foul  things  nestle  and  breed  fast.  “  Secret 
faults  ”  are  those  hidden,  not  from  men,  but  from  him¬ 
self.  He  discovers  that  he  has  hitherto  undiscovered 
sins.  Lurking  evils  are  most  dangerous  because,  like 
aphides  on  the  under-side  of  a  rose  leaf,  they  multiply 
so  quickly  unobserved  ;  small  deeds  make  up  life,  and 
small,  unnoticed  sins  darken  the  soul.  Mud  in  water, 
at  the  rate  of  a  grain  to  a  glassful,  will  make  a  lake 
opaque.  “  Happy  is  he  that  condemneth  not  himself 
in  that  thing  which  he  alloweth.”  Conscience  needs 
educating ;  and  we  have  to  compare  ourselves  with  the 


xix.]  THE  PSALMS.  193 

ideal  of  perfect  life  in  Jesus,  if  we  would  know  our 
faults,  as  young  artists  go  over  their  copies  in  front 
of  the  masterpiece.  But  the  psalmist  knows  that, 
servant  of  God  though  he  is,  he  is  in  danger  from 
another  class  of  sins,  and  so  prays  to  be  held  back 
from  “presumptuous  sins,”  i.e.  wilful  conscious  trans¬ 
gressions.  Such  deliberate  contraventions  of  law  tend 
to  become  habitual  and  despotic ;  so  the  prayer  follows 
that  they  may  not  “  have  dominion.”  But  even  that 
is  not  the  lowest  depth.  Deliberate  sin,  which  has 
gained  the  upper  hand,  is  but  too  apt  to  end  in  apos- 
tacy.  “  Great  transgression  ”  is  probably  a  designation 
for  casting  off  the  very  pretence  of  worshipping  Jehovah. 
That  is  the  story  of  many  a  fall.  First,  some  unsus¬ 
pected  evil  habit  gnaws  away  the  substance  of  the 
life,  as  white  ants  do  wood,  leaving  the  shell  apparently 
intact ;  then  come  sins  open  and  palpable,  and  these 
enslave  the  will,  becoming  habits,  and  then  follows 
entire  abandonment  of  the  profession  of  religion.  It  is 
a  slippery,  dark  stairway,  and  the  only  safety  is  in  not 
setting  foot  on  the  top  step.  God,  and  God  only,  can 
“keep  us  back.”  He  will,  if  we  cling  to  Him,  knowing 
our  weakness.  Thus  clinging,  we  may  unblamed 
cherish  the  daring  hope  that  we  shall  be  “  upright 
and  innocent,”  since  nothing  less  than  entire  deliver¬ 
ance  from  sin  in  all  its  forms  and  issues  can  correspond 
to  the  will  of  God  concerning  us  and  the  power  of 
God  in  us,  nor  satisfy  our  deepest  desires. 

The  closing  aspiration  is  that  Jehovah  would  accept 
the  song  and  prayer.  There  is  an  allusion  to  the 
acceptance  of  a  sacrifice,  for  the  phrase  “  be  acceptable  ” 
is  frequent  in  connection  with  the  sacrificial  ritual. 
When  the  words  of  the  mouth  coincide  with  the  medita¬ 
tion  of  the  heart,  we  may  hope  that  prayers  for  cleansing 

13 


194 


THE  PSALMS. 


from,  and  defence  against,  sin,  offered  to  Him  whom 
our  faith  recognises  as  our  “  strength  ”  and  our 
“  Redeemer,”  will  be  as  a  sacrifice  of  a  sweet  smell, 
well-pleasing  to  God.  He  best  loves  the  law  of 
Jehovah  who  lets  it  teach  him  his  sin,  and  send  him 
to  his  knees;  he  best  appreciates  the  glories  of  the 
silent  heavens  who  knows  that  their  witness  to  God 
is  but  the  prelude  of  the  deeper  music  of  the  Scriptures’ 
declaration  of  the  heart  and  will  of  Jehovah,  and  who 
grasps  Him  as  his  “strength  and  his  Redeemer”  from 
all  evil,  whether  evil  of  sin  or  evil  of  sorrow. 


PSALM  XX. 


1  Jehovah  answer  thee  in  the  day  of  trouble, 

The  name  of  the  God  of  Jacob  set  thee  on  high; 

2  Send  thy  help  from  the  holy  place, 

And  from  Zion  hold  thee  up ; 

3  Remember  all  thy  meal  offerings, 

And  thy  burnt  offerings  may  He  find  fat ;  Selah. 

4  Give  thee  according  to  thy  heart, 

And  all  thy  counsel  may  He  fulfil. 

5  May  we  exult  in  thy  salvation,  and  in  the  name  of  our  God  wave 

our  standards ; 

Jehovah  fulfil  all  thy  petitions  ! 

6  Now  I  know  that  Jehovah  saves  His  anointed  ; 

He  will  answer  him  from  his  Holy  heaven,  with  mighty  deeds  of 
the  salvation  of  His  right  hand. 

7  These  boast  in  chariots,  and  these  in  horses ; 

And  we — in  the  name  of  Jehovah  our  God  we  boast. 

8  They — they  are  bowed  down,  and  fall ; 

And  we — we  are  risen,  and  stand  firm. 

9  Jehovah,  save  ! 

May  the  King  hear  us  in  the  day  when  we  call. 


HIS  is  a  battle  song,  followed  by  a  chant  of 


X  victory.  They  are  connected  in  subject  and  pro¬ 
bably  in  occasion,  but  fight  and  triumph  have  fallen 
dim  to  us,  though  we  can  still  feel  how  hotly  the  fire 
once  glowed.  The  passion  of  loyalty  and  love  for  the 
king,  expressed  in  these  psalms,  fits  no  reign  in  Judah 
so  well  as  the  bright  noonday  of  David’s,  when  “  what¬ 
ever  the  king  did  pleased  all  the  people.”  Cheyne, 
indeed,  would  bring  them  down  to  the  Maccabean 


i95 


196 


THE  PSALMS. 


period,  and  suggests  Simon  Maccabaeus  as  the  ruler 
referred  to.  He  has  to  put  a  little  gentle  pressure  on 
“  king  ”  to  contract  it  to  fit  the  man  of  his  choice,  and 
appeals  to  the  “  good  old  Semitic  sense  ”  of  “  consul.” 
But  would  not  an  appeal  to  Hebrew  usage  have  been 
more  satisfactory  ?  If  “  king  ”  means  “  king,”  great  or 
small,  the  psalm  is  not  post-exilic,  and  the  Davidic  date 
will  not  seem  impossible.  It  does  not  seem  impossible 
that  a  poet-king  should  have  composed  a  national  hymn 
praying  for  his  own  victory,  which  was  the  nation’s 
also. 

The  psalm  has  traces  of  the  alternation  of  chorus 
and  solo.  The  nation  or  army  first '  pours  out  its 
united  prayer  for  victory  in  vv.  1-5,  and  is  succeeded 
by  a  single  voice  (possibly  that  of  the  officiating  priest 
or  the  king  himself)  in  ver.  6,  expressing  confidence 
that  the  prayer  is  answered,  which,  again,  is  followed 
by  the  closing  chorus  of  many  voices  throbbing  with 
the  assurance  of  victory  before  a  blow  is  struck,  and 
sending  one  more  long-drawn  cry  to  God  ere  battle 
is  joined. 

The  prayer  in  vv.  1-5  breathes  self-distrust  and 
confidence  in  Jehovah,  the  temper  which  brings  victory, 
not  only  to  Israel,  but  to  all  fighters  for  God.  Here  is 
no  boasting  of  former  victories,  nor  of  man’s  bravery 
and  strength,  nor  of  a  captain’s  skill.  One  name  is 
invoked.  It  alone  rouses  courage  and  pledges  triumph. 
“The  name  of  the  God  of  Jacob  set  thee  on  high.” 
That  name  is  almost  regarded  as  a  person,  as  is  often 
the  case.  Attributes  and  acts  are  ascribed  to  it  which 
properly  belong  to  the  Unnameable  whom  it  names,  as 
if  with  some  dim  inkling  that  the  agent  of  revealing  a 
person  must  be  a  person.  The  name  is  the  revealed 
character,  which  is  contemplated  as  having  existence  in 


XX.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


197 


some  sense  apart  from  Him  whose  character  it  is. 
Possibly  there  is  a  reference  to  Gen.  xxxv.  3,  where 
Jacob  speaks  of  “  the  God  who  answered  me  in  the  day 
of  my  distress.”  That  ancient  instance  of  His  power 
to  hear  and  help  may  have  floated  before  the  singer’s 
mind  as  heartening  faith  for  this  day  of  battle.  To 
“  set  on  high”  is  a  familiar  natural  figure  for  deliver¬ 
ance.  The  earthly  sanctuary  is  Jehovah’s  throne;  and 
all  real  help  must  come  thence,  of  which  help  His 
dwelling  there  is  a  pledge.  So  in  these  two  verses  the 
extremity  of  need,  the  history  of  past  revelation,  and 
the  special  relation  of  Jehovah  to  Israel  are  woven 
into  the  people’s  prayer  for  their  king.  In  vv.  3,  4, 
they  add  the  incense  of  their  intercession  to  his  sacri¬ 
fices.  The  background  of  the  psalm  is  probably  the 
altar  on  which  the  accustomed  offerings  before  a  battle 
were  being  presented  (1  Sam.  xiii.  9).  The  prayer  for 
acceptance  of  the  burnt  offering  is  very  graphic,  since 
the  word  rendered  “ accept”  is  literally  “esteem  fat.” 

One  wish  moved  the  sacrificing  king  and  the  praying 
people.  Their  common  desire  was  victory,  but  the 
people  are  content  to  be  obscure,  and  their  loyal  love 
so  clings  to  their  monarch  and  leader  that  they  only 
wish  the  fulfilment  of  his  wishes.  This  unity  of  feeling 
culminates  in  the  closing  petitions  in  ver.  6,  where  self- 
oblivion  washes  “  May  we  exult  in  thy  salvation,” 
arrogating  none  of  the  glory  of  victory  to  themselves, 
but  ascribing  all  to  him,  and  vows  “  In  the  name  of 
our  God  we  will  wave  our  standards,”  ascribing  victory 
to  Him,  its  ultimate  cause.  An  army  that  prays, 
“Jehovah  fulfil  all  thy  petitions,”  will  be  ready  to  obey 
all  its  captain’s  commands  and  to  move  in  obedience  to 
his  impulse  as  if  it  were  part  of  himself.  The  enthu¬ 
siastic  community  of  purpose  with  its  chief  and  absolute 


193 


THE  PSALMS, 


reliance  on  Jehovah,  with  which  this  prayer  throbs, 
would  go  far  towards  securing  victory  anywhere. 
They  should  find  their  highest  exemplification  in  that 
union  between  Christ  and  us  in  which  all  human 
relationships  find  theirs,  since,  in  the  deepest  sense, 
they  are  all  Messianic  prophecies,  and  point  to  Him 
who  is  all  the  good  that  other  men  and  women  have 
partially  been,  and  satisfies  all  the  cravings  and  neces¬ 
sities  which  human  relationships,  however  blessed,  but 
incompletely  supply. 

The  sacrifice  has  been  offered  ;  the  choral  prayer  has 
gone  up.  Silence  follows,  the  worshippers  watching  the 
curling  smoke  as  it  rises  ;  and  then  a  single  voice  breaks 
cut  into  a  burst  of  glad  assurance  that  sacrifice  and 
prayer  are  answered.  Who  speaks  ?  The  most  natural 
answer  is,  “  The  king  ”  ;  and  the  fact  that  he  speaks 
of  himself  as  Jehovah’s  anointed  in  t'he  third  person 
dees  not  present  a  difficulty.  What  is  the  reference 
in  that  11  now  ”  at  the  beginning  of  ver.  6  ?  May  we 
venture  to  suppose  that  the  king’s  heart  swelled  at 
the  exhibition  of  his  subjects’  devotion  and  hailed  it 
as  a  pledge  of  victory  ?  The  future  is  brought  into 
the  present  by  the  outstretched  hand  of  faith,  for  this 
single  speaker  knows  that  u  Jehovah  has  saved,”  though 
no  blow  has  yet  been  struck.  The  prayer  had  asked 
for  help  from  Zion ;  the  anticipation  of  answer  looks 
higher :  to  the  holier  sanctuary,  where  Jehovah  indeed 
dwells.  The  answer  now  waited  for  in  sure  confidence 
is  “  the  mighty  deeds  of  salvation  of  His  right  hand,” 
some  signal  forthputting  of  Divine  power  scattering 
the  foe.  A  whisper  may  start  an  avalanche.  The 
prayer  of  the  people  has  set  Omnipotence  in  motion. 
Such  assurance  that  petitions  are  heard  is  wont  to 
spring  in  the  heart  that  truly  prays,  and  comes  as  a 


XX.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


199 


forerunner  of  fulfilment,  shedding  on  the  soul  the  dawn 
of  the  yet  unrisen  sun.  He  has  but  half  prayed  who 
does  not  wait  in  silence,  watching  the  flight  of  his 
arrow  and  not  content  to  cease  till  the  calm  certainty 
that  it  has  reached  its  aim  fills  his  heart. 

Again  the  mair^  voices  take  up  the  song,  responding 
to  the  confidence  of  the  single  speaker  and,  like  him, 
treating  the  victory  as  already  won.  Looking  across 
the  field  to  the  masses  of  the  enemy’s  cavalry  and 
chariots,  forces  forbidden  to  Israel,  though  employed 
by  them  in  later  days,  the  song  grandly  opposes  to 
these  “the  name  of  Jehovah  our  God.”  There  is  a 
world  of  contempt  and  confidence  in  the  juxtaposition. 
Chariots  and  horses  are  very  terrible,  especially  to  raw 
soldiers  unaccustomed  to  their  whirling  onset  ;  but  the 
Name  is  mightier,  as  Pharaoh  and  his  array  proved  by 
the  Red  Sea.  This  reference  to  the  army  of  Israel 
as  unequipped  with  cavalry  and  chariots  is  in  favour 
of  an  early  date,  since  the  importation  and  use  of 
both  began  as  soon  as  Solomon’s  time.  The  certain 
issue  of  the  fight  is  given  in  ver.  8  in  a  picturesque 
fashion,  made  more  vigorous  by  the  tenses  which 
describe  completed  acts.  When  the  brief  struggle  is 
over,  this  is  what  will  be  seen — the  enemy  prone, 
Israel  risen  from  subjection  and  standing  firm.  Then 
comes  a  closing  cry  for  help,  which,  according  to  the 
traditional  division  of  the  verse,  has  one  very  short 
clause  and  one  long  drawn  out,  like  the  blast  of  the 
trumpet  sounding  the  charge.  The  intensity  of  appeal 
is  condensed  in  the  former  clause  into  the  one  word 
“  save  ”  and  the  renewed  utterance  of  the  name,  thrice 
referred  to  in  this  short  psalm  as  the  source  at  once  of 
strength  and  confidence.  The  latter  clause,  as  in  the 
A.V.  and  R.V.,  transfers  the  title  of  King  from  the 


200 


THE  PSALMS. 


earthly  shadow  to  the  true  Monarch  in  the  heavens, 
and  thereby  suggests  yet  another  plea  for  help.  The 
other  division  of  the  verse,  adopted  in  the  LXX.  and 
by  some  moderns,  equalises  the  clauses  by  transferring 
“  the  king  ”  to  the  former  (u  O  Lord,  save  the  king,  and 
answer  us,”  etc.).  But  this  involves  a  violent  change 
from  the  second  person  imperfect  in  the  first  clause  to 
the  third  person  imperfect  in  the  second.  It  would  be 
intolerably  clumsy  to  say,  “  Do  Thou  save  ;  may  He 
hear,”  and  therefore  the  LXX.  has  had  recourse  to 
inserting  u  and  ”  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  clause, 
which  somewhat  breaks  the  jolt,  but  is  not  in  the 
Hebrew.  The  text,  as  it  stands,  yields  a  striking 
meaning,  beautifully  suggesting  the  subordinate  office 
of  the  earthly  monarch  and  appealing  to  the  true  King 
to  defend  His  own  army  and  go  forth  with  it  to  the 
battle  which  is  waged  for  His  name.  When  we  are 
sure  that  we  are  serving  Jehovah  and  fighting  for  Him, 
we  may  be  sure  that  we  go  not  a  warfare  at  our  own 
charges  nor  alone. 


PSALM  XXI. 


1  Jehovah,  in  Thy  strength  the  king  rejoices, 

And  in  Thy  salvation  how  greatly  he  exults  ! 

2  The  desire  of  his  heart  Thou  hast  given  to  him, 

And  the  request  of  his  lips  Thou  hast  not  refused. 

3  For  Thou  meetest  him  with  blessings  of  good  ; 

Thou  settest  on  his  head  a  crown  of  pure  gold. 

4  Life  he  asked  from  Thee ;  Thou  gavest  it  to  him, 

Length  of  days  for  ever  and  ever. 

5  Great  is  his  glory  through  Thy  salvation  ; 

Honour  and  majesty  Thou  layest  upon  him. 

6  For  Thou  dost  set  him  [to  be]  blessings  forever, 

Dost  gladden  him  in  joy  with  Thy  face. 

7  For  the  king  trusts  in  Jehovah, 

And  in  the  loving-kindness  ot  the  Most  High  he  shall  not  be 
moved. 

8  Thine  hand  shall  reach  towards  all  thy  foes ; 

Thy  right  hand  shall  reach  all  thy  haters. 

9  Thou  shalt  make  them  as  a  furnace  of  fire  at  the  time  of  thine 

appearance  (face);  [them. 

Jehovah  in  His  wrath  shall  swallow  them  up  :  fire  shall  devour 

10  Their  fruit  shalt  thou  destroy  from  the  earth, 

And  their  seed  from  the  sons  of  men. 

1 1  For  they  cause  evil  to  hang  over  thee  ; 

They  meditate  mischief :  they  will  achieve  nothing. 

12  For  thou  shalt  make  them  turn  their  back, 

On  thy  bowstrings  wilt  aim  [arrows]  at  their  faces. 

13  Lift  Thyself  up,  Jehovah,  in  Thy  strength  ; 

We  will  sing  and  harp,  [praising]  Thy  might. 

THIS  psalm  is  a  pendant  to  the  preceding.  There 
the  people  prayed  for  the  king ;  here  they  give 
thanks  for  him  :  there  they  asked  that  his  desires  might 

201 


202 


THE  PSALMS. 


be  fulfilled ;  here  they  bless  Jehovah,  who  has  fulfilled 
them  :  there  the  battle  was  impending ;  here  it  has  been 
won,  though  foes  are  still  in  the  field :  there  the 
victory  was  prayed  for ;  here  it  is  prophesied.  Who 
is  the  “  king  ”  ?  The  superscription  points  to  David. 
Conjecture  has  referred  to  Hezekiah,  principally  be¬ 
cause  of  his  miraculous  recovery,  which  is  supposed 
to  be  intended  in  ver.  4.  Cheyne  thinks  of  Simon 
Maccataeus,  and  sees  his  priestly  crown  in  ver.  3. 
But  there  are  no  individualising  features  in  the  royal 
portrait,  and  it  is  so  idealised,  or  rather  spiritualised, 
that  it  is  hard  to  suppose  that  any  single  monarch  was 
before  the  singer’s  mind.  The  remarkable  greatness 
and  majesty  of  the  figure  will  appear  as  we  read.  The 
whole  may  be  cast  into  two  parts,  with  a  closing  strain 
of  prayer.  In  the  first  part  (vv.  1-7)  the  people  praise 
Jehovah  for  His  gifts  to  the  king;  in  the  second 
(vv.  8-12)  they  prophesy  to  the  king  complete  victory; 
in  ver.  13  they  end,  as  in  xx.,  with  a  short  petition, 
which,  however,  here  is,  in  accordance  with  the  tone 
of  the  whole,  more  jubilant  than  the  former  and  less 
shrill. 

The  former  psalm  had  asked  for  strength  to  be  given 
to  the  king  ;  this  begins  with  thanks  for  the  strength 
m  which  the  king  rejoices.  In  the  former  the  people 
had  anticipated  triumph  in  the  king’s  salvation  or 
victory ;  here  they  celebrate  his  exceeding  exultation 
in  it.  It  was  his,  since  he  was  victor,  but  it  was 
Jehovah’s,  since  He  was  Giver  of  victory.  Loyal 
subjects  share  in  the  king’s  triumph,  and  connect  it 
with  him ;  but  he  himself  traces  it  to  God.  The 
extraordinarily  lofty  language  in  which  Jehovah’s  gifts 
are  described  in  the  subsequent  verses  has,  no  doubt, 
analogies  in  the  Assyrian  hymns  to  which  Cheyne 


THE  PSALMS* 


203 


xxi.] 

refers ;  but  the  abject  reverence  and  partial  deification 
which  these  breathe  were  foreign  to  the  relations  of 
Israel  to  its  kings,  who  were  not  separated  from  their 
subjects  by  such  a  gulf  as  divided  the  great  sovereigns 
of  the  East  from  theirs.  The  mysterious  Divinity 
which  hedges  “the  king”  in  the  royal  psalms  is  in 
sharp  contrast  with  the  democratic  familiarity  between 
prince  and  people  exhibited  in  the  history.  The 
phenomena  common  to  these  psalms  naturally  suggest 
that  “the  king”  whom  they  celebrate  is  rather  the 
ideal  than  the  real  monarch.  The  office  rather  than 
the  individual  who  partially  fulfils  its  demands  and 
possesses  its  endowments  seems  to  fill  the  singer’s 
canvas.  But  the  ideal  of  the  office  is  destined  to  be 
realised  in  the  Messiah,  and  the  psalm  is  in  a  true 
sense  Messianic,  inasmuch  as,  with  whatever  mixture 
of  conceptions  proper  to  the  then  stage  of  revelation, 
it  still  ascribes  to  the  ideal  king  attributes  which  no 
king  of  Judah  exhibited.  The  transcendant  character 
of  the  gifts  of  Jehovah  enumerated  here  is  obvious, 
however  the  language  may  be  pared  down.  First,  we 
have  the  striking  picture  of  Jehovah  coming  forth  to 
meet  the  conqueror  with  “blessings  of  goodness,”  as 
Melchizedek  met  Abraham  with  refreshments  in  his 
hands  and  benedictions  on  his  lips.  Victory  is  natu¬ 
rally  followed  by  repose  and  enjoyment,  and  all  are 
Jehovah’s  gift.  The  subsequent  endowments  may 
possibly  be  regarded  as  the  details  of  these  blessings, 
the  fruits  of  the  victory.  Of  these  the  first  is  the 
coronation  of  the  conqueror,  not  as  if  he  had  not 
been  king  before,  but  as  now  more  fully  recognised  as 
such.  The  supporters  of  the  Davidic  authorship  refer 
to  the  crown  of  gold  won  at  the  capture  of  Rabbath 
of  Ammon,  but  there  is  no  need  to  seek  historical  basis 


204 


THE  PSALMS. 


for  the  representation.  Then  comes  a  signal  instance 
of  the  king’s  closeness  of  intercourse  with  Jehovah  and 
of  his  receiving  his  heart’s  desire  in  that  he  asked  for 
“  life  ”  and  received  “length  of  days  for  ever  and  ever.” 
No  doubt  the  strong  expression  for  perpetuity  may  be 
paralleled  in  such  phrases  as  “O  king,  live  for  ever,” 
and  others  which  are  obviously  hyperbolical  and  mean 
not  perpetual,  but  indefinitely  protracted,  duration  ;  but 
the  great  emphasis  of  expression  here  and  its  repeti¬ 
tion  in  ver.  6  can  scarcely  be  disposed  of  as  mere 
hyperbole.  If  it  is  the  ideal  king  who  is  meant,  his 
undying  life  is  substantially  synonymous  with  the  con¬ 
tinuance  of  the  dynasty  which  2  Sam. '  vii.  represents 
as  the  promise  underlying  the  Davidic  throne.  The 
figure  of  the  king  is  then  brought  still  nearer  to  the 
light  of  Jehovah,  and  words  which  are  consecrated  to 
express  Divine  attributes  are  applied  to  him  in  ver.  5. 
“Glory,”  “honour  and  majesty,”  are  predicated  of  him, 
not  as  if  there  were  an  apotheosis,  as  would  have  been 
possible  in  Assyrian  or  Roman  flattery,  but  the  royal 
recipient  and  the  Divine  Giver  are  clearly  separated, 
even  while  the  lustre  raying  from  Jehovah  is  conceived 
of  as  falling  in  brightness  upon  the  king.  These  flash¬ 
ing  emanations  of  the  Divine  glory  make  their  recipient 
“  blessings  for  ever,”  which  seems  to  include  both  the 
possession  and  the  communication  of  good.  An  eternal 
fountain  of  blessing  and  himself  blessed,  he  is  cheered 
with  joy  which  comes  from  Jehovah’s  face,  so  close  is 
his  approach  and  so  gracious  to  him  is  that  coun¬ 
tenance.  Nothing  higher  could  be  thought  of  than 
such  intimacy  and  friendliness  of  access.  To  dwell  in 
the  blaze  of  that  face  and  to  find  only  joy  therein  is  the 
crown  of  human  blessedness  (Psalm  xvi.  11).  Finally, 
the  double  foundation  of  all  the  king’s  gifts  is  laid  in 


xxi.] 


THE  PSALMS . 


205 


ver.  7  :  he  trusts  and  Jehovah’s  loving-kindness  gives, 
and  therefore  he  stands  firm,  and  his  throne  endures, 
whatever  may  dash  against  it.  These  daring  anticipa¬ 
tions  are  too  exuberant  to  be  realised  in  any  but  One, 
whose  victory  was  achieved  in  the  hour  of  apparent 
defeat ;  whose  conquest  was  both  His  salvation  and 
God’s ;  who  prays  knowing  that  He  is  always  heard  ; 
who  is  King  of  men  because  He  endured  the  cross, — 
and  wears  the  crown  of  pure  gold  because  He  did  not 
refuse  the  crown  of  thorns ;  who  liveth  for  evermore, 
having  been  given  by  the  Father  to  have  life  in  Himself ; 
who  is  the  outshining  of  the  Father’s  glory,  and  has  all 
power  granted  unto  Him;  who  is  the  source  of  all  blessing 
to  all,  who  dwells  in  the  joy  to  which  He  will  welcome 
His  servants;  and  who  Himself  lived  and  conquered 
by  the  life  of  faith,  and  so  became  the  first  Leader  of 
the  long  line  of  those  who  have  trusted  and  therefore 
have  stood  fast.  Whomsoever  the  psalmist  saw  in  his 
vision,  he  has  gathered  into  one  many  traits  which  are 
realised  only  in  Jesus  Christ. 

The  second  part  (vv.  8-12)  is,  by  Hupfeld  and 
others,  taken  as  addressed  to  Jehovah ;  and  that  idea 
has  much  to  recommend  it,  but  it  seems  to  go  to  wreck 
on  the  separate  reference  to  Jehovah  in  ver.  9,  on  the 
harshness  of  applying  “  evil  against  thee  ”  and  “  a 
mischievous  device”  (ver.  11)  to  Him,  and  on  the 
absence  of  a  sufficient  link  of  connection  between  the 
parts  if  it  is  adopted.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  sup¬ 
pose  that  the  king  is  addressed  in  these  verses,  there 
is  the  same  dramatic  structure  as  in  Psalm  xx.  ;  and 
the  victory  which  has  been  won  is  now  taken  as  a 
pledge  of  future  ones.  The  expectation  is  couched  in 
terms  adapted  to  the  horizon  of  the  singer,  and  on 
his  lips  probably  meant  stern  extermination  of  hostile 


206 


THE  PSALMS. 


nations.  The  picture  is  that  of  a  fierce  conqueror, 
and  we  must  not  seek  to  soften  the  features,  nor,  on 
the  other  hand,  to  deny  the  prophetic  inspiration  of  the 
psalmist.  The  task  of  the  ideal  king  was  to  crush 
and  root  out  opposition  to  his  monarchy,  which  was 
Jehovah’s.  Very  terrible  are  the  judgments  of  his 
hand,  which  sound  liker  those  of  Jehovah  than  those 
inflicted  by  a  man,  as  Hupfeld  and  others  have  felt. 
In  ver.  8  the  construction  is  slightly  varied  in  the  two 
clauses,  the  verb  “  reach  ”  having  a  preposition  attached 
in  the  former,  and  not  in  the  latter,  which  difference 
may  be  reproduced  by  the  distinction  between  “reach 
towards  ”  and  “reach.”  The  seeking  hand  is  stretched 
out  after,  and  then  it  grasps,  its  victims.  The  com¬ 
parison  of  the  “  fiery  oven  ”  is  inexact  in  form,  but  the 
very  negligence  helps  the  impression  of  agitation  and 
terribleness.  The  enemy  are  not  likened  to  a  furnace, 
but  to  the  fuel  cast  into  it.  But  the  phrase  rendered 
in  A.  V.  “  in  the  time  of  thine  anger  ”  is  very  remarkable, 
being  literally  “in  the  time  of  thy  face.”  The  destruc¬ 
tive  effect  of  Jehovah’s  countenance  (xxxiv.  17)  is  here 
transferred  to  His  king’s,  into  whose  face  has  passed, 
as  he  gazed  in  joy  on  the  face  of  Jehovah,  some  of  the 
lustre  which  kills  where  it  does  not  gladden.  Compare 
“  everlasting  destruction  from  the  face  of  the  Lord  ” 
(2  Thess.  i.  9).  The  king  is  so  completely  representa¬ 
tive  of  Jehovah  that  the  destruction  of  the  enemy  is 
the  work  of  the  one  fire  of  wrath  common  to  both. 
The  destruction  extends  to  the  whole  generation  of 
enemies,  as  in  the  ferocious  warfare  of  old  days,  when 
a  nation  was  wiped  off  the  earth.  The  psalmist  sees 
in  the  extremest  vengeance  the  righteous  and  inevitable 
consequence  of  hostility  condemned  by  the  nature  of 
the  case  to  be  futile,  and  yet  criminal  :  “  They  cause 


THE  PSALMS. 


207 


xxi.j 

evil  to  hang  over  thee  :  they  meditate  mischief ;  they 
will  achieve  nothing.”  Then,  in  ver.  12,  the  dread 
scene  is  completed  by  the  picture  of  the  flying  foe  and 
the  overtaking  pursuer,  who  first  puts  them  to  flight, 
and  then,  getting  in  front  of  them,  sends  his  arrows 
full'  in  their  faces.  The  ideal  of  the  king  has  a  side 
of  terror ;  and  while  his  chosen  weapon  is  patient  love, 
he  has  other  arrows  in  his  quiver.  The  pictures  of  the 
destroying  conqueror  are  taken  up  and  surpassed  in 
the  New  Testament.  They  do  not  see  the  whole 
Christ  who  do  not  see  the  Warrior  Christ,  nor  have 
they  realised  all  His  work  who  slur  over  the  solemn 
expectation  that  one  day  men  shall  call  on  rocks  and 
hills  to  cover  them  from  “the  steady  whole  of  the 
Judge’s  face.” 

As  in  Psalm  xx.,  the  close  is  a  brief  petition,  which 
asks  the  fulfilment  of  the  anticipations  in  vv.  8-12,  and 
traces,  as  in  ver.  1,  the  king’s  triumph  to  Jehovah’s 
strength.  The  loyal  love  of  the  nation  will  take  its 
monarch’s  victory  as  its  own  joy,  and  be  glad  in  the 
manifestation  thereby  of  Jehovah’s  power.  That  is  the 
true  voice  of  devotion  which  recognises  God,  not  man, 
in  all  victories,  and  answers  the  forthflashing  of  His 
delivering  power  by  the  thunder  of  praise. 


PSALM  XXII 


1  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me  ? 

[Why  art  Thou]  afar  from  my  help,  from  the  words  of  my 

2  My  God,  I  cry  to  Thee  by  day,  and  Thou  answerest  not; 
And  by  night,  but  there  is  no  rest  for  me. 

3  Yet  Thou  art  Holy, 

Throned  upon  the  praises  of  Israel. 

4  In  Thee  our  fathers  trusted; 

They  trusted  and  Thou  deliveredst  them. 

5  To  Thee  they  cried  and  were  delivered  ; 

In  Thee  they  trusted  and  were  not  put  to  shame. 

6  But  I  am  a  worm,  and  not  a  man ; 

A  reproach  of  men  and  despised  of  people. 

7  All  who  see  me  mock  at  me ; 

They  draw  open  the  lips,  they  nod  the  head. 

8  “Roll  [thy  cares]  on  Jehovah — let  Him  deliver  him; 

Let  Him  rescue  him,  for  He  delights  in  him.” 

9  Yea,  Thou  art  He  who  didst  draw  me  from  the  womb 
Didst  make  me  trust  when  on  my  mother’s  breasts. 

10  Upon  Thee  was  I  thrown  from  birth; 

From  my  mother’s  womb  art  Thou  my  God. 

1 1  Be  not  far  from  me,  for  trouble  is  near ; 

For  there  is  no  helper. 

12  Many  bulls  have  surrounded  me, 

Strong  ones  of  Bashan  have  encircled  me, 

13  They  gape  upon  me  with  their  mouth, 

[Like]  a  lion  tearing  and  roaring. 

14  Like  water  I  am  poured  out, 

And  all  my  bones  are  out  of  joint 
My  heart  has  become  like  wax, 

Melted  in  the  midst  of  my  bowels. 

208 


xxii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


15  My  strength  (palate  ?)  is  dried  up  like  a  potsherd, 

And  my  tongue  cleaves  to  my  gums, 

And  Thou  layest  me  in  the  dust  of  death. 

16  For  dogs  have  surrounded  me, 

A  pack  of  evil-doers  closed  round  me, 

They  pierced  my  hands  and  my  feet. 

17  I  can  count  all  my  bones, 

These — they  gaze,  upon  me  they  look. 

18  They  divide  my  garments  among  them, 

And  on  my  vesture  they  cast  lots. 

19  But  Thou,  Jehovah,  be  not  far  off; 

My  Strength,  haste  to  my  help. 

20  Deliver  my  soul  from  the  sword, 

My  only  [life]  from  the  paw  of  the  dog. 

21  Save  me  from  the  mouth  of  the  lion, 

And  from  the  horns  of  the  wild  oxen— Thou  hast  answered  me. 

22  I  will  declare  Thy  name  to  my  brethren, 

In  the  midst  of  the  congregation  will  I  praise  Thee. 

23  Ye  that  fear  Jehovah,  praise  Him, 

All  ye  the  seed  of  Jacob,  glorify  Him, 

And  stand  in  awe  of  Him,  all  ye  the  seed  of  Israel. 

24  For  He  has  not  despised  nor  abhorred  the  affliction  of  the  afflicted 

•  one. 

And  has  not  hid  His  face  from  him, 

And  when  he  cried  has  hearkened  to  him. 

25  From  Thee  [comes]  my  praise  in  the  great  congregation ; 

My  vows  will  I  pay  before  them  that  fear  Him. 

26  The  humble  shall  eat  and  be  satisfied, 

They  shall  praise  Jehovah  that  seek  Him; 

Let  your  heart  live  for  ever. 

27  All  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  remember  and  turn  to 

Jehovah. 

And  all  the  families  of  the  nations  shall  bow  before  Thee. 

28  For  the  kingdom  is  Jehovah’s  ; 

And  He  is  ruler  among  the  nations. 

29  All  the  fat  ones  of  the  earth  eat  and  bow  down  ; 

Before  His  face  kneel  all  they  who  were  going  down  to  the 
dust, 

And  he  [who]  could  not  keep  his  soul  alive. 


14 


210 


THE  PSALMS. 


30  A  seed  shall  serve  Him  ; 

And  it  shall  be  told  of  Jehovah  unto  the  [next]  generation. 

31  They  shall  come  and  declare  His  righteousness 

Unto  a  people  that  shall  be  born,  that  He  has  done  [this]. 

WHO  is  the  sufferer  whose  wail  is  the  very  voice 
of  desolation  and  despair,  and  who  yet  dares 
to  believe  that  the  tale  of  his  sorrow  will  be  a  gospel 
for  the  world  ?  The  usual  answers  are  given.  .The 
title  ascribes  the.  authorship  to  David,  and  is  accepted 
by  Delitzsch  and  others.  Hengstenberg  and  his 
followers  see  in  the  picture  the  ideal  righteous  man. 
Others  think  of  Hezekiah,  or  Jeremiah,  with  whose 
prophecies  and  history  there  are  many  points  of  con¬ 
nection.  The  most  recent  critics  find  here  “  the  per¬ 
sonalised  Genius  of  Israel,  or  more  precisely  the 
followers  of  Nehemiah,  including  the  large-hearted 
psalmist”  (Cheyne,  “  Orig.  of  Psalt.,”  264).  On  any 
theory  of  authorship,  the  startling  correspondence  of 
the  details  of  the  psalmist’s  sufferings  with  those  of 
the  Crucifixion  has  to  be  accounted  for.  How  startling 
that  correspondence  is,  both  in  the  number  and  minute¬ 
ness  of  its  points,  need  not  be  insisted  on.  Not  only 
does  our  Lord  quote  the  first  verse  on  the  cross,  and 
so  show  that  the  psalm  was  in  his  heart  then,  but  the 
gestures  and  words  of  mockery  were  verbally  repro¬ 
duced,  as  Luke  significantly  indicates  by  using  the 
LXX’s  word  for  “laugh  to  scorn”  (ver.  7).  Christ’s 
thirst  is  regarded  by  John  as  the  fulfilment  of  “scrip¬ 
ture,”  which  can  scarcely  be  other  than  ver.  15.  The 
physical  effects  of  crucifixion  are  described  in  the 
ghastly  picture  of  vv.  14,  15.  Whatever  difficulty 
exists  in  determining  the  true  reading  and  meaning  of 
the  allusion  to  “  my  hands  and  my  feet,”  some  violence 
or  indignity  to  them  is  intended.  The  peculiar  detail 


xxii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


211 


of  dividing  the  raiment  was  more  than  fulfilled,  since 
the  apparently  parallel  and  synonymous  clauses  were 
resolved  into  two  distinct  acts.  The  recognition  of 
these  points  in  the  psalm  as  prophecies  is  one  thing ; 
the  determination  of  their  relation  to  the  psalmist’s 
own  experience  is  quite  another.  It  is  taken  for  granted 
in  many  quarters  that  every  such  detail  in  prophecy 
must  describe  the  writer’s  own  circumstances,  and  the 
supposition  that  they  may  transcend  these  is  said  to 
be  “psychologically  impossible.”  But  it  is  somewhat 
hazardous  for  those  who  have  not  been  subjects  of 
prophetic  inspiration  to  lay  down  canons  of  what  is 
possible  and  impossible  in  it,  and  there  are  examples 
enough  to  prove  that  the  relation  of  the  prophets’ 
speech  to  their  consciousness  and  circumstances  was 
singularly  complex,  and  not  to  be  unravelled  by  any 
such  obiter  dicta  as  to  psychological  possibilities.  They 
were  recipients  of  messages,  and  did  not  always  under¬ 
stand  what  the  “  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did 
signify.”  Theories  which  neglect  that  aspect  of  the 
case  do  not  front  all  the  facts.  Certainty  as  to  the 
authorship  of  this  psalm  is  probably  unattainable.  How' 
far  its  words  fitted  the  condition  of  the  singer  must 
therefore  remain  unsettled.  But  that  these  minute 
and  numerous  correspondences  are  more  than  coin¬ 
cidences,  it  seems  perverse  to  deny.  The  present 
writer,  for  one,  sees  shining  through  the  shadowy  per¬ 
sonality  of  the  psalmist  the  figure  of  the  Prince  of 
Sufferers,  and  believes  that  whether  the  former’s  plaints 
applied  in  all  their  particulars  to  him,  or  whether  there 
is  in  them  a  certain  “  element  of  hyperbole  ”  which 
becomes  simple  fact  in  Jesus’  sufferings,  the  psalm  is 
a  prophecy  of  Him  and  them.  In  the  former  case  the 
psalmist’s  experience,  in  the  latter  case  his  utterances, 


212 


THE  PSALMS. 


were  divinely  shaped  so  as  to  prefigure  the  sacred 
sorrows  of  the  Man  of  Sorrows. 

To  a  reader  who  shares  in  this  understanding  of  the 
psalm,  it  must  be  holy  ground,  to  be  trodden  reverently 
and  with  thoughts  adoringly  fixed  on  Jesus.  Cold 
analysis  is  out  of  place.  And  yet  there  is  a  distinct 
order  even  in  the  groans,  and  a  manifest  contrast  in 
the  two  halves  of  the  psalm  (vv.  1-2 1  and  22-31). 
“Thou  answerest  not  ”  is  the  key-note  of  the  former; 
“  Thou  hast  answered  me,”  of  the  latter.  The  one 
paints  the  sufferings,  the  other  the  glory  that  should 
follow.  Both  point  to  Jesus  :  the  former  by  the  desola¬ 
tion  which  it  breathes ;  the  latter  by  the  world-wide 
consequences  of  these  solitary  sufferings  which  it  fore¬ 
sees. 

Surely  opposites  were  never  more  startlingly  blended 
in  one  gush  of  feeling  than  in  that  plaint  of  mingled 
faith  -and  despair,  “  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  Thou 
forsaken  me  ?  ”  which  by  its  thus  addressing  God 
clings  fast  to  Him,  and  by  its  wondering  question 
discloses  the  dreary  consciousness  of  separation  from 
Him.  The  evidence  to  the  psalmist  that  he  was 
forsaken  was  the  apparent  rejection  of  his  prayers  for 
deliverance ;  and  if  David  be  the  speaker,  we  may 
suppose  that  the  pathetic  fate  of  his  predecessor 
hovered  before  his  thoughts  :  “  I  am  sore  distressed.  .  . 
God  is  departed  from  me  and  answereth  me  no  more.” 
But,  while  lower  degrees  of  this  conflict  of  trust  and 
despair  belong  to  all  deep  religious  life,  and  are 
experienced  by  saintly  sufferers  in  all  ages,  the  voice 
that  rang  through  the  darkness  on  Calvary  was  the 
cry  of  Him  who  experienced  its  force  in  supreme 
measure  and  in  altogether  unique  manner.  None  but 
He  can  ask  that  question  “Why?”  with  conscience 


xxii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


2\% 


void  of  offence.  None  but  He  have  known  the  mortal 
agony  of  utter  separation  from  God.  None  but  He 
have  clung  to  God  with  absolute  trust  even  in  the 
horror  of  great  darkness.  In  Christ’s  consciousness 
of  being  forsaken  by  God  lie  elements  peculiar  to  it 
alone,  for  the  separating  agent  was  the  gathered  sins 
of  the  whole  world,  laid  on  Him  and  accepted  by  Him 
in  the  perfection  of  His  loving  identification  of  Himself 
with  men.  Unless  in  that  dread  hour  He  was  bearing 
a  world’s  sin,  there  is  no  worthy  explanation  of  His 
cry,  and  many  a  silent  martyr  has  faced  death  for  Him 
with  more  courage  derived  from  Him  than  He  mani¬ 
fested  on  His  cross. 

After  the  introductory  strophe  of  two  verses,  there 
come  seven  strophes,  of  which  three  contain  3  verses 
each  (vv.  3—1 1)  followed  by  two  of  2  verses  each 
(vv.  12-15)  and  these  again  by  two  with  3  verses 
each.  Can  a  soul  agitated  as  this  singer’s  was  regulate 
its  sobs  thus  ?  Yes,  if  it  is  a  singer’s,  and  still  more 
if  it  is  a  saint’s.  The  fetters  make  the  limbs  move  less 
violently,  and  there  is  soothing  in  the  ordered  expres¬ 
sion  of  disordered  emotion.  The  form  is  artistic  not 
artificial;  and  objections  to  the  reality  of  the  feelings 
on  the  ground  of  the  regularity  of  the  form  ignore  the 
witness  of  the  masterpieces  of  literature  in  all  tongues. 

The  desolation  rising  from  unanswered  prayer  drives 
to  the  contemplation  of  God’s  holiness  and  past 
responses  to  trusting  men,  which  are  in  one  aspect 
an  aggravation  and  in  another  an  alleviation.  The 
psalmist  partly  answers  his  own  question  u  Why  ?  ” 
and  preaches  to  Himself  that  the  reason  cannot  be  in 
Jehovah,  whose  character  and  former  deeds  bind  Him 
to  answer  trust  by  help.  God’s  holiness  is  primarily 
His  separation  from,  by  elevation  above,  the  creature, 


214 


THE  PSALMS. 


both  in  regard  of  His  freedom  from  limitations  and 
of  His  perfect  purity.  If  He  is  thus  “  holy,”  He 
will  not  break  His  promise,  nor  change  His  ways  with 
those  who  trust.  It  takes  some  energy  of  faith  to 
believe  that  a  silent  and  apparently  deaf  God  is  “  holy,” 
and  the  effect  of  the  belief  may  either  be  to  crush  or 
to  lift  the  spirit.  Its  first  result  with  this  psalmist 
seems  to  have  been  to  crush,  as  the  next  strophe  shows, 
but  the  more  blessed  consequence  is  won  before  the 
end.  Here  it  is  partly  a  plea  urged  with  God,  as  is 
that  beautiful  bold  image  of  God  enthroned  u  on  the 
praises  of  Israel.”  These  praises  are  evoked  by  former 
acts  of  grace  answering  prayers,  and  of  them  is  built 
a  yet  nobler  throne  than  the  outstretched  wings  of  the 
Cherubim.  The  daring  metaphor  penetrates  deeply 
into  God’s  delight  in  men’s  praise,  and  the  power  of 
Israel’s  voice  to  exalt  Him  in  the  world.  How  could 
a  God  thus  throned  cease  to  give  mercies  like  those 
which  were  perpetually  commemorated  thereby  ?  The 
same  half-wistful,  half-confident  retrospect  is  continued 
in  the  remaining  verses  of  this  strophe  (vv.  4,  5),  which 
look  back  to  the  “grey  fathers’”  experience.  Mark 
the  plaintive  reiteration  of  “  trust  ”  and  “  deliver,”  the 
two  inseparables,  as  the  days  of  old  attested,  which 
had  now  become  so  sadly  parted.  Not  more  certainly 
the  flow  of  water  in  a  pipe  answers  the  application  of 
thirsty  lips  to  its  opening  than  did  God’s  rescuing  act 
respond  to  the  father’s  trust.  And  now  ! — 

The  use  of  “  Our  ”  in  reference  to  the  fathers  has 
been  laid  hold  of  as  favouring  the  hypothesis  that  the 
speaker  is  the  personified  nation  ;  but  no  individual 
member  of  a  nation  would  speak  of  the  common 
ancestors  as  “  My  fathers.”  That  would  mean  his  own 
family  progenitors,  whereas  the  psalmist  means  the 


THE  PSALMS. 


215 


xxii.] 

Patriarchs  and  the  earlier  generations.  No  argument 
for  the  national  theory,  then,  can  be  drawn  from  the 
phrase.  Can  the  reference  to  Jesus  be  carried  into 
this  strophe  ?  Assuredly  it  may,  and  it  shows  us  how 
truly  He  associated  Himself  with  His  nation,  and  fed 
His  faith  by  the  records  of  the  past.  “  He  also  is  a 
son  of  Abraham.” 

Such  remembrances  make  the  contrast  of  present 
sufferings  and  of  a  far-off  God  more  bitter;  and  so  a 
fresh  wave  of  agony  rolls  over  the  psalmist’s  soul. 
He  feels  himself  crushed  and  as  incapable  of  resistance 
as  a  worm  bruised  in  all  its  soft  length  by  an  armed 
heel.  The  very  semblance  of  manhood  has  faded. 
One  can  scarcely  fail  to  recall  “  his  visage  was  so 
marred  more  than  any  man  ”  (Isa.  hi.  14),  and  the 
designation  of  Jehovah’s  servant  Israel  as  “  thou 
worm”  (Isa.  xli.  14).  The  taunts  that  wounded  the 
psalmist  so  sorely  have  long  since  fallen  dumb,  and  the 
wounds  are  all  healed  ;  but  the  immortal  words  in  which 
he  wails  the  pain  of  misapprehension  and  rejection  are 
engraved  for  ever  on  the  heart  of  the  world.  No 
suffering  is  more  acute  than  that  of  a  sensitive  soul, 
brimming  with  love  and  eagerness  to  help,  and  met 
with  scorn,  rejection  and  ferocious  mockery  of  its 
sacredest  emotions.  No  man  has  ever  felt  that  pang 
with  the  intensity  with  which  Jesus  felt  it,  for  none 
has  ever  brought  such  wealth  of  longing  love  to  be 
thrown  back  on  itself,  nor  been  so  devoid  of  the 

callousness  with  which  selfishness  is  shielded.  His 

pure  nature  was  tender  as  an  infant’s  hand,  and  felt 

the  keen  edge  of  the  spear  as  none  but  He  can  have 
done.  They  are  His  sorrows  that  are  painted  here,  so 
vividly  and  truly  that  the  evangelist  Luke  takes  the 
very  word  of  the  LXX.  version  of  the  psalm  to  describe 


I 


216  THE  PSALMS. 


the  rulers’  mockery  (Luke  xxiii.  35).  “  They  draw 

open  the  lips/’  grinning  with  delight  or  contempt ; 

“  they  nod  the  head  ”  in  mockery  and  assent  to  the 
suffering  inflicted  ;  and  then  the  savage  hate  bursts 
into  irony  which  defiles  the  sacredest  emotions  and 
comes  near  to  blaspheming  God  in  ridiculing  trust  in 
Him.  The  mockers  thought  it  exquisite  sarcasm  to 
bid  Jesus  roll  His  troubles  on  Jehovah,  and  to  bid  God 
deliver  Him  since  He  delighted  in  Him.  How  little 
they  knew  that  they  were  thereby  proclaiming  Him  as 
the  Christ  of  prophecy,  and  were  giving  the  unimpeach¬ 
able  testimony  of  enemies  to  His  life  of  devout  trust 
and  His  consciousness  of  Divine  favour  !  “  Roll  (it)  on 

God,”  sneered  they  ;  and  the  answer  was,  “  Father,  into 
Thy  hands  I  commit  my  spirit.”  “  Let  Him  deliver 
Him,  since  He  delighteth  in  Him,”  they  impiously  cried, 
and  they  knew  not  that  God’s  delight  in  Him  was  the 
very  reason  why  He  did  not  deliver  Him.  Because  He 
was  His  Son  in  whom  He  was  well  pleased,  “it  pleased 
the  Lord  to  bruise  Him.”  The  mockery  of  opponents 
brings  into  clear  light  the  deepest  secrets  of  that  cross. 

Another  wave  of  feeling  follows  in  the  next  strophe 
(vv.  9-1 1).  Backwards  and  forwards,  from  trust  to 
complaint  and  from  complaint  to  trust,  roils  the  troubled 
sea  of  thought,  each  mood  evoking  its  opposite.  Now 
reproach  makes  the  psalmist  tighten  his  grasp  on  God, 
and  plead  former  help  as  a  reason  for  present  hearing. 
Faith  turns  taunts  into  prayers.  This  strophe  begins 
with  a  “  Yea,”  and,  on  the  relationship  with  God  which 
the  enemies  had  ridiculed  and  which  his  heart  knows 
to  be  true,  pleads  that  God  would  not  remain,  as  ver.  I 
had  vailed  that  He  was,  far  eff  from  His  help.  It 
goes  back  to  the  beginning  of  life,  and  in  the  mystery 
of  birth  and  the  dependence  of  infancy  finds  arguments 


xxii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


with  God.  They  are  the  personal  application  of  the 
wide  truth  that  God  by  His  making  us  men  gives  us  a 
claim  on  Him,  that  He  has  bound  Himself  by  giving 
life  to  give  what  is  needful  for  its  development  and 
well-being.  He  will  not  stultify  Himself  by  making  a 
man  and  then  leaving  him  to  struggle  alone,  as  birds 
do  with  their  young,  as  soon  as  they  can  fly.  He  is  “  a 
faithful  Creator.”  May  we  venture  to  find  special 
reference  here  to  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation  ?  It 
is  noticeable  that  “  my  mother  ”  is  emphatically  men¬ 
tioned,  while  there  is  no  reference  to  a  father.  No 
doubt  the  cast  of  the  thought  accounts  for  that,  but 
still  the  special  agency  of  Divine  power  in  the  birth  of 
Jesus  gives  special  force  to  His  prayer  for  Divine  help 
in  the  life  so  peculiarly  the  result  of  the  Divine  hand. 
But  while  the  plea  had  singular  force  on  Christ’s  lips, 
it  is  valid  for  all  men. 

The  closing  verse  of  this  strophe  takes  the  complaint 
of  ver.  i  and  turns  it  into  prayer.  Faith  does  not  rest 
with  plaintively  crying  “  Why  art  Thou  so  far  ?  ”  but 
pleads  “  Be  not  far  ”  ;  and  makes  the  nearness  of  trouble 
and  the  absence  of  all  other  help  its  twofold  pleas. 
So  much  the  psalmist  has  already  won  by  his  com¬ 
muning  with  God.  Now  he  can  face  environing  sorrows 
and  solitary  defencelessness,  and  feel  them  to  be  reasons 
for  God’s  coming,  not  tokens  of  His  distance. 

We  now  come  to  two  strophes  of  two  verses  each 
(vv.  12-15),  of  which  the  former  describes  the  encircling 
foes  and  the  latter  the  psalmist’s  failure  of  vital  power. 
The  metaphor  of  raging  wild  animals  recurs  in  later 
verses,  and  is  common  to  many  psalms.  Bashan  was 
a  land  of  pastures  over  which  herds  of  half  wild  cattle 
roamed.  They  “  have  surrounded  me  ”  is  a  picturesque 
touch,  drawn  direct  from  life,  as  any  one  knows  who 


218 


THE  PSALMS. 


has  ever  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  such  a  herd. 
The  gaping  mouth  is  rather  characteristic  of  the  lion 
than  of  the  bull.  The  open  jaws  emit  the  fierce  roar 
which  precedes  the  fatal  spring  and  the  11  ravening  ”  on 
its  prey.  The  next  short  strophe  passes  from  enemies 
around  to  paint  inward  feebleness.  All  vital  force  has 
melted  away ;  the  very  bones  are  dislocated,  raging 
thirst  has  supervened.  These  are  capable  of  being 
construed  as  simply  strong  metaphors,  parallels  to 
which  may  be  found  in  other  psalms  ;  but  it  must  not 
be  left  unnoticed  that  they  are  accurate  transcripts  of 
the  physical  effects  of  crucifixion.  That  torture  killed 
by  exhaustion,  it  stretched  the  body  as  on  a  rack,  it 
was  attended  with  agonies  of  thirst.  It  requires  con¬ 
siderable  courage  to  brush  aside  such  coincidences  as 
accidental,  in  obedience  to  a  theory  of  interpretation. 
But  the  picture  is  not  completed  when  the  bodily  suffer¬ 
ings  are  set  forth.  A  mysterious  attribution  of  them 
all  to  God  closes  the  strophe.  “  Thou  hast  brought  me 
to  the  dust  of  death.”  Then,  it  is  God’s  hand  that  has 
laid  all  these  on  him.  No  doubt  this  may  be,  and 
probably  was  in  the  psalmist’s  thought,  only  a  devout 
recognition  of  Providence  working  through  calamities ; 
but  the  words  receive  full  force  only  by  being  regarded 
as  parallel  with  those  of  Isa.  liii.  io,  “  He  hath  put 
Him  to  grief.”  In  like  manner  the  apostolic  preaching 
regards  Christ’s  murderers  as  God’s  instruments. 

The  next  strophe  returns  to  the  three-verse  arrange¬ 
ment,  and  blends  the  contents  of  the  two  preceding, 
dealing  both  with  the  assailing  enemies  and  the  en¬ 
feebled  sufferer.  The  former  metaphor  of  wild  animals 
encircling  him  is  repeated  with  variations.  A  baser 
order  of  foes  than  bulls  and  lions,  namely  a  troop  ol 
cowardly  curs,  are  snarling  and  snapping  round  him. 


xxii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


219 


The  contemptuous  figure  is  explained  in  ver.  1 6  b,  as 
meaning  a  mob  of  evildoers,  and  is  then  resumed  in  the 
next  clause,  which  has  been  the  subject  of  so  much 
dispute.  It  seems  plain  that  the  Massoretic  text  is 
corrupt.  “  Like  a  lion,  my  hands  and  my  feet  ”  can 
only  be  made  into  sense  by  violent  methods.  The 
difference  between  the  letters  which  yield  “  like  a  lion  ” 
and  those  which  give  “  they  pierced  ”  is  only  in  the 
length  of  the  upright  stroke  of  the  final  one.  LXX. 
Vulg.  Syr.  translate  they  dug  or  pierced ’  and  other 
ancient  versions  attest  that  they  read  the  word  as  a 
verb.  The  spelling  of  the  word  is  anomalous,  if  we 
take  it  to  mean  dig ,  but  the  irregularity  is  not  without 
parallels,  and  may  be  smoothed  away  either  by  assuming 
an  unusual  form  of  a  common  verb  or  a  rare  root  cognate 
with  the  more  common  one.  The  word  would  then 
mean  “  they  dug  ”  rather  than  pierced ,  but  the  shade  of 
difference  in  meaning  is  not  so  great  as  to  forbid  the 
latter  rendering.  In  any  case  “  it  is  the  best  attested 
reading.  It  is  to  be  understood  of  the  gaping  wounds 
which  are  inflicted  on  the  sufferer’s  hands  and  feet, 
and  which  stare  at  him  like  holes”  (Baethgen,  “  Hand 
Comment.,”  p.  65).  “  Behold  my  hands  and  my  feet,” 

said  the  risen  Lord,  and  that  calm  word  is  sufficient 
proof  that  both  bore  the  prints  of  nails.  The  words 
might  be  written  over  this  psalm.  Strange  and  sad 
that  so  many  should  look  on  it  and  not  see  Him ! 

The  picture  of  bodily  sufferings  has  one  more  touch 
in  “  I  can  count  all  my  bones.”  Emaciation  would 
produce  that  effect.  But  so  would  crucifixion  which 
extended  the  frame  and  threw  the  bones  of  the 
thorax  into  prominence.  Then  the  sufferer  turns  his 
eyes  once  more  to  his  enemies,  and  describes  the  stony 
gaze,  protracted  and  unfeeling,  with  which  they  feed 


220 


The  psalmS. 


upon  his  agonies.  Crucifixion  was  a  slow  process,  and 
we  recall  the  long  hours  in  which  the  crowds  sated 
their  hatred  through  their  eyes. 

It  is  extremely  unlikely  that  the  psalmist’s  garments 
were  literally  parted  among  his  foes,  and  the  usual 
explanation  of  the  singular  details  in  ver.  1 8  is  that 
they  are  either  a  metaphor  drawn  from  plundering  the 
slain  in  battle  or  a  proverbial  expression.  What  refer¬ 
ence  the  words  had  to  the  original  speaker  of  them  must, 
in  our  ignorance  of  his  circumstances,  remain  uncertain. 
But  they  at  all  events  depict  his  death  as  so  sure  that 
his  enemies  regard  his  dress  as  their  perquisite.  Surely 
this  is  a  distinct  instance  of  Divine  guidance  moulding 
a  psalmist’s  words  so  as  to  fill  them  with  a  deeper 
meaning  than  the  speaker  knew.  He  who  so  shaped 
them  saw  the  soldiers  dividing  the  rest  of  the  garments 
and  gambling  for  the  seamless  cloak  ;  and  He  was  “  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  ”  the  singer. 

The  next  strophe  closes  the  first  part  with  petition 
which,  in  the  last  words,  becomes  thanksgiving,  and 
realises  the  answer  so  fervently  besought.  The  initial 
complaint  of  God’s  distance  is  again  turned  into 
prayer,  and  the  former  metaphors  of  wild  beasts  are 
gathered  into  one  long  cry  for  deliverance  from  the 
dangerous  weapons  of  each,  the  dog’s  paw,  the  lion’s 
mouth,  the  wild  oxen’s  horns.  The  psalmist  speaks  of 
his  “  soul  ”  or  life  as  11  my  only  one,”  referring  not  to  his 
isolation,  but  to  his  life  as  that  which,  once  lost,  could 
never  be  regained.  He  has  but  one  life,  therefore  he 
clings  to  it,  and  cannot  but  believe  that  it  is  precious 
in  God’s  eyes.  And  then,  all  at  once,  up  shoots  a 
clear  light  of  joy,  and  he  knows  that  he  has  not  been 
speaking  to  a  deaf  or  remote  God,  but  that  his  cry  is 
answered.  He  had  been  brought  to  the  dust  of  death, 


xxii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


221 


but  even  thence  he  is  heard  and  brought  out  with  no 
soil  of  it  upon  him.  Such  suddenness  and  complete¬ 
ness  of  deliverance  from  such  extremity  of  peril  may, 
indeed,  have  been  experienced  by  many,  but  receives 
its  fullest  meaning  in  its  Messianic  application.  “  From 
the  horns  of  the  wild  oxen,”  says  he,  as  if  the  phrase 
were  still  dependent,  like  the  preceding  ones,  on  the 
prayer,  “  deliver  me.”  But,  as  he  thus  cries,  the  con¬ 
viction  that  he  is  heard  floods  his  soul,  and  he  ends, 
not  with  a  cry  for  help,  but  with  that  one  rapturous 
word,  “Thou  hast  answered  me.”  It  is  like  a  parting 
burst  of  sunshine  at  the.  end  of  a  day  of  tempest.  A 
man  already  transfixed  by  a  buffalo’s  horns  has 
little  hope  of  escape,  but  even  thence  God  delivers. 
The  psalmist  did  not  know,  but  the  Christian  reader 
should  not  forget  that  the  Prince  of  sufferers  was  yet 
more  wondrously  delivered  from  death  by  passing 
through  death,  and  that  by  His  victory  all  who  cleave 
to  Him  are,  in  like  manner,  saved  from  the  horns  even 
while  these  gore  them,  and  are  then  victors  over  death 
when  they  fall  beneath  its  dart. 

The  consequences  of  the  psalmist’s  deliverance  are 
described  in  the  last  part  (vv.  22-31)  in  language  so 
wide  that  it  is  hard  to  suppose  that  any  man  could  think 
his  personal  experiences  so  important  and  far-reaching. 
The  whole  congregation  of  Israel  are  to  share  in  his 
thanksgiving  and  to  learn  more  of  God’s  name  through 
him  (vv.  22-6).  Nor  does  that  bound  his  anticipa¬ 
tions,  for  they  traverse  the  whole  world  and  embrace 
all  lands  and  ages,  and  contemplate  that  the  story  of  his 
sufferings  and  triumph  will  prove  a  true  gospel,  bringing 
every  country  and  generation  to  remember  and  turn 
to  Jehovah.  The  exuberant  language  becomes  but  one 
mouth.  Such  consequences,  so  wide-spread  and  age- 


222 


THE  PSALMS. 


long,  can  follow  from  the  story  of  but  one  life.  If  the 
sorrows  of  the  preceding  part  can  only  be  a  description 
of  the  passion,  the  glories  of  the  second  can  only  be  a 
vision  of  the  universal  and  eternal  kingdom  of  Christ. 
It  is  a  gospel  before  the  Gospels  and  an  Apocalypse 
before  Revelations. 

In  the  first  strophe  (vv.  22-6)  the  delivered  singer 
vows  to  make  God’s  name  known  to  His  brethren. 
The  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  quotes  the  vow  as  not 
only  expressive  of  our  Lord’s  true  manhood,  but  as 
specifying  its  purpose.  Jesus  became  man  that  men 
might  learn  to  know  God ;  and  the  knowledge  of  His 
name  streams  most  brightly  from  the  cross.-  The  death 
and  resurrection,  the  sufferings  and  glory  of  Christ 
open  deeper  regions  in  the  character  of  God  than  even 
His  gracious  life  disclosed.  Rising  from  the  dead  and 
exalted  to  the  throne,  He  has  “  a  new  song  ”  in  His 
immortal  lips,  and  more  to  teach  concerning  God  than 
He  had  before. 

The  psalm  calls  Israel  to  praise  with  the  singer,  and 
tells  the  ground  of  their  joyful  songs  (vv.  23,  24). 
Here  the  absence  of  any  reference  to  the  relation  which 
the  New  Testament  reveals  between  these  sufferings 
and  that  praise  is  to  be  noted  as  an  instance  of  the 
gradual  development  of  prophecy.  “We  are  not  yet  on 
the  level  of  Isaiah  liii.”  (Kirkpatrick,  “  Psalms,”  122). 
The  close  of  this  part  speaks  of  a  sacrifice  of  which 
“the  humble  shall  eat  and  be  satisfied” — “I  will 
pay  my  vows  ” — i.e.  the  thankofferings  vowed  when  in 
trouble.  The  custom  of  feasting  on  the  “  sacrifices  for 
peace-offering  for  thanksgiving”  (Lev.  vii.  15)  is  here 
referred  to,  but  the  ceremonial  garb  covers  spiritual 
truth.  The  condition  of  partaking  in  this  feast  is 
humility,  that  poverty  of  spirit  which  knows  itself  to 


xxii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


223 


be  hungry  and  unable  to  find  food  for  itself.  The 
consequence  of  partaking  is  satisfaction — a  deep  truth 
reaching  far  beyond  the  ceremonial  emblem.  A  further 
result  is  that  “  your  heart  shall  live  for  ever  ” — an 
unmeaning  hyperbole,  but  in  one  application  of  the 
words.  We  penetrate  to  the  core  of  the  psalm  in  this 
part,  when  we  read  it  in  the  light  of  Christ’s  words. 
“  My  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  my  blood  is  drink 
indeed,”  and  when  we  connect  it  with  the  central  act 
of  Christian  worship,  the  Lord’s  Supper. 

The  universal  and  perpetual  diffusion  of  the  kingdom 
and  knowledge  of  God  is  the  theme  of  the  closing 
strain  (vv.  27-31).  That  diffusion  is  not  definitely 
stated  as  the  issue  of  the  sufferings  or  deliverance,  but 
the  very  fact  that  such  a  universal  knowledge  comes 
into  view  here  requires  that  it  should  be  so  regarded, 
else  the  unity  of  the  psalm  is  shattered.  While,  there¬ 
fore,  the  ground  alleged  in  ver.  28  for  this  universal 
recognition  of  God  is  only  His  universal  dominion,  we 
must  suppose  that  the  history  of  the  singer  as  told  to 
the  world  is  the  great  fact  which  brings  home  to  men 
the  truth  of  God’s  government  over  and  care  for  them. 
True,  men  know  God  apart  from  revelation  and  from 
the  gospel,  but  He  is  to  them  a  forgotten  God,  and 
the  great  influence  which  helps  them  to  “  remember 
and  turn  to  Jehovah  ”  is  the  message  of  the  Cross  and 
the  Throne  of  Jesus. 

The  psalm  had  just  laid  down  the  condition  of 
partaking  in  the  sacrificial  meal  as  being  lowliness,  and 
(ver.  29)  it  prophecies  that  the  “  fat  ”  shall  also  share 
in  it.  That  can  only  be,  if  they  become  “humble.” 
Great  and  small,  lofty  and  low  must  take  the  same 
place  and  accept  the  food  of  their  souls  as  a  meal 
of  charity.  The  following  words  are  very  difficult,  as 


T 


224  THE  PSALMS. 

the  text  stands.  There  would  appear  to  be  a  contrast 
intended  between  the  obese  self-complacency  of  the 
prosperous  and  proud,  and  the  pauper-like  misery  of 
“  those  who  are  going  down  to  the  dust  ”  and  who 
“  cannot  keep  their  soul  alive,”  that  is,  who  are  in  such 
penury  and  wretchedness  that  they  are  all  but  dead. 
There  is  a  place  for  ragged  outcasts  at  the  table  side 
by  side  with  the  “fat  on  earth.”  Others  take  the 
words  as  referring  to  those  already  dead,  and  see  here 
a  hint  that  the  dim  regions  of  Sheol  receive  beams  of 
the  great  light  and  some  share  in  the  great  feast.  The 
thought  is  beautiful,  but  too  remote  from  anything  else 
in  the  Old  Testament  to  be  adopted  here.  Various 
attempts  at  conjectural  emendations  and  redivision 
of  clauses  have  been  made  in  order  to  lighten  the 
difficulties  of  the  verse.  However  attractive  some  of 
these  are,  the  existing  reading  yields  a  not  unworthy 
sense,  and  is  best  adhered  to. 

As  universality  in  extent,  so  perpetuity  in  duration 
is  anticipated  for  the  story  of  the  psalmist’s  deliver¬ 
ance  and  for  the  praise  to  God  thence  accruing.  “  A 
seed  shall  serve  Him.”  That  is  one  generation  of 
obedient  worshippers.  “It  shall  be  told  of  Jehovah 
unto  the  [next]  generation.”  That  is,  a  second,  who 
shall  receive  from  their  progenitors,  the  seed  that 
serves,  the  blessed  story.  “  They.  .  .  shall  declare  His 
righteousness  unto  a  people  that  shall  be  born.”  That 
is,  a  third,  which  in  its  turn  receives  the  good  news 
from  parents’  lips.  And  what  is  the  word  which  thus 
maintains  itself  living  amid  dying  generations,  and 
blesses  each,  and  impels  each  to  bequeath  it  as  their 
best  treasure  to  their  successors  ?  “  That  He  hath 

done.”  Done  what  ?  With  eloquent  silence  the  psalm 
omits  to  specify.  What  was  it  that  was  meant  by  that 


THE  PSALMS. 


22$ 


kxii.j 

word  on  the  cross  which,  with  like  reticence,  forbore 
to  tell  of  what  it  spoke  ?  “  He  hath  done.”  “  It  is 

finished.”  No  one  word  can  express  all  that  was 
accomplished  in  that  sacrifice.  Eternity  will  not  fully 
supply  the  missing  word,  for  the  consequences  of  that 
finished  work  go  on  unfolding  for  ever,  and  are  for 
ever  unfinished,  because  for  ever  increasing. 


PSALM  XXIII. 


1  Jehovah  is  my  Shepherd  ;  I  do  not  want. 

2  In  pastures  of  fresli  grass  He  leads  me; 

By  waters  of  rest  He  makes  me  he. 

3  My  soul  He  refreshes ; 

He  guides  me  in  paths  of  righteousness  [straight  paths]  for  H:s 
name’s  sake. 

4  Even  if  I  walk  in  a  gorge  of  gloom,  I  fear  not  evil,  for  Thou  art  with 

me ; 

Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff — they  comfort  me. 

5  Thou  spreadest  before  me  a  table  in  presence  of  my  foes; 

Thou  anointest  with  oil  my  head  :  my  cup  is  overfulness. 

6  Only  good  and  mercy  shall  follow  me  all  the  days  of  my  life, 

And  my  dwelling  shall  be  in  the  house  of  Jehovah  for  length  ot 


days. 


HE  world  could  spare  many  a  large  book  better 


X  than  this  sunny  little  psalm.  It  has  dried  many 
tears  and  supplied  the  mould  into  which  many  hearts 
have  poured  their  peaceful  faith.  To  suppose  that  the 
speaker  is  the  personified  nation  chills  the  whole. 
The  tone  is  too  intense  not  to  be  the  outcome  of 
personal  experience,  however  admissible  the  application 
to  the  nation  may  be  as  secondary.  No  doubt 
Jehovah  is  the  Shepherd  of  Israel  in  several  Asaphite 
psalms  and  in  Jeremiah ;  but,  notwithstanding  great 
authorities,  I  cannot  persuade  myself  that  the  voice 
which  comes  so  straight  to  the  heart  did  not  come  from 
the  heart  of  a  brother  speaking  across  the  centuries  his 
own  personal  emotions,  which  are  universal  just  because 
they  are  individual.  It  is  the  pure  utterance  of  personal 


226 


xxiii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


227 


trust  in  Jehovah,  darkened  by  no  fears  or  complaints 
and  so  perfectly  at  rest  that  it  has  nothing  more  to  ask. 
For  the  time  desire  is  stilled  in  satisfaction.  One  tone, 
and  that  the  most  blessed  which  can  sound  in  a  life,  is 
heard  through  the  whole.  It  is  the  psalm  of  quiet  trust, 
undisturbed  even  by  its  joy,  which  is  quiet  too.  The 
fire  glows,  but  does  not  flame  or  crackle.  The  one 
thought  is  expanded  in  two  kindred  images  :  that  of  the 
shepherd  and  that  of  the  host.  The  same  ideas  are 
substantially  repeated  under  both  forms.  The  lovely 
series  of  vivid  pictures,  each  but  a  clause  long,  but 
clear-cut  in  that  small  compass,  like  the  fine  work 
incised  on  a  gem,  combines  with  the  depth  and  simpli¬ 
city  of  the  religious  emotion  expressed,  to  lay  this  sweet 
psalm  on  all  hearts. 

Vv.  1-4  present  the  realities  of  the  devout  life 
under  the  image  of  the  Divine  Shepherd  and  His  lamb. 

The  comparison  of  rulers  to  shepherds  is  familiar  to 
many  tongues,  and  could  scarcely  fail  to  occur  to  a 
pastoral  people  like  the  Jews,  nor  is  the  application 
to  Jehovah’s  relation  to  the  people  so  recondite  that  we 
need  to  relegate  the  psalms  in  which  it  occurs  to  a  late 
era  in  the  national  history.  The  psalmist  lovingly 
lingers  on  the  image,  and  draws  out  the  various  aspects 
of  the  shepherd’s  care  and  of  the  flock’s  travels,  with  a 
ripeness  and  calmness  which  suggests  that  we  listen  to 
a  much-experienced  man.  The  sequence  in  which  the 
successive  pictures  occur  is  noteworthy.  Guidance  to 
refreshment  comes  first,  and  is  described  in  ver.  2,  in 
words  which  fall  as  softly  as  the  gentle  streams  of 
which  they  speak.  The  noontide  is  fierce,  and  the 
land  lies  baking  in  the  sun-blaze  ;  but  deep  down  in 
some  wady  runs  a  brook,  and  along  its  course  the 
herbage  is  bright  with  perpetual  moisture,  and  among 


228 


THE  PSALMS. 


the  lush  grass  are  cool  lairs  where  the  footsore,  panting 
flock  may  couch.  The  shepherd's  tenderness  is  beauti¬ 
fully  hinted  at  in  the  two  verbs :  he  “  leads,”  not 
drives,  but  in  Eastern  wise  precedes  and  so  draws 
the  trustful  sheep ;  he  “  makes  me  to  lie  down,”  taking 
care  that  the  sheep  shall  stretch  weary  limbs  in  full 
enjoyment  of  repose.  God  thus  guides  to  rest  and  lays 
to  rest  the  soul  that  follows  Him.  Why  does  the 
psalmist  begin  with  this  aspect  of  life  ?  Because  it  is 
fittest  to  express  the  shepherd's  care,  and  because  it  is, 
after  all,  the  predominant  aspect  to  the  devout  heart. 
Life  is  full  of  trial  and  effort,  but  it  is  an  unusually 
rainy  region  where  rain  falls  on  more  than  half  the 
days  of  the  year.  We  live  so  much  more  vividly  and 
fully  in  the  moments  of  agony  or  crisis  that  they  seem 
to  fill  more  space  than  they  really  do.  But  they  are 
only  moments,  and  the  periods  of  continued  peaceful 
possession  of  blessings  are  measured  by  years.  But 
the  sweet  words  of  the  psalm  are  not  to  be  confined  to 
material  good.  The  psalmist  does  not  tell  us  whether 
he  is  thinking  more  of  the  outer  or  of  the  inner  life, 
but  both  are  in  his  mind,  and  while  his  confidence  is 
only  partially  warranted  by  the  facts  of  the  former,  it 
is  unlimitedly  true  in  regard  to  the  latter.  In  that 
application  of  the  words  the  significance  of  the  priority 
given  to  the  pastures  of  fresh  springing  grass  and  the 
waters  of  repose  is  plain,  for  there  the  rest  of  trust  and 
the  drinking  of  living  water  must  precede  all  walking  in 
paths  of  righteousness. 

Food  and  drink  and  rest  refresh  fainting  powers,  and 
this  reinvigoration  is  meant  by  “restoring  my  soul” 
or  life. 

But  the  midday  or  nightly  rest  is  intended  to  fit  for 
effort,  and  so  a  second  little  picture  follows  in  ver.  3, 


xxiii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


229 


presenting  another  aspect  of  the  shepherd’s  care  and 
of  the  sheep’s  course.  Out  again  on  to  the  road,  in 
spite  of  heat  and  dust,  the  flock  goes.  “  Paths  of  righte¬ 
ousness  ”  is  perhaps  best  taken  as  11  straight  paths,” 
as  that  rendering  keeps  within  the  bounds  of  the 
metaphor ;  but  since  the  sheep  are  men,  straight  paths 
for  them  must  needs  be  paths  of  righteousness.  That 
guidance  is  “for  His  name’s  sake.”  God  has  regard  to 
His  revealed  character  in  shepherding  His  lamb,  and 
will  give  direction  because  He  is  what  He  is,  and  in 
order  that  He  may  be  known  to  be  what  He  has 
declared  Himself.  The  psalmist  had  learned  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  repose  and  refreshment  which,  in  all  regions  of 
life,  are  intended  to  prepare  for  tasks  and  marches. 
We  are  to  “  drink  for  strength,  and  not  for  drunken¬ 
ness.”  A  man  may  lie  in  a  bath  till  strength  is 
diminished,  or  may  take  his  plunge  and  come  from  it 
braced  for  work.  In  the  religious  life  it  is  possible  to 

c 

commit  an  analogous  error,  and  to  prize  so  unwisely 
peaceful  hours  of  communion,  as  to  waive  imperative 
duty  for  the  sake  of  them ;  like  Peter  with  his  “  Let  us 
make  here  three  tabernacles,”  while  there  were  devil- 
ridden  sufferers  waiting  to  be  healed  down  on  the  plain. 
Moments  of  devotion,  which  do  not  prepare  for  hours 
of  practical  righteousness,  are  very  untrustworthy. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  paths  of  righteousness  will 
not  be  trodden  by  those  who  have  known  nothing  of  the 
green  pastures  and  waters  where  the  wearied  can  rest. 

But  life  has  another  aspect  than  these  two — rest  and 
toil ;  and  the  guidance  into  danger  and  sorrow  is  as 
tender  as  its  other  forms  are.  The  singular  word 
rendered  “  shadow  of  death  ”  should  probably  simply 
be  “  gloomy  darkness,”  such,  for  instance,  as  in  the 
shaft  of  a  mine  (Job  xxviii.  3).  But,  even  if  the  former 


230 


THE  PSALMS 


rendering  is  retained,  it  is  not  to  be  interpreted  as 
meaning  actual  death.  No  wise  forward  look  can 
ignore  the  possibility  of  many  sorrows  and  the  cer¬ 
tainty  of  some.  Hope  has  ever  something  of  dread  in 
her  eyes.  The  road  will  not  be  always  bright  and 
smooth,  but  will  sometimes  plunge  down  into  grim 
canons,  where  no  sunbeams  reach.  But  even  that 
anticipation  may  be  calm.  “Thou  art  with  me  ”  is 
enough.  He  who  guides  into  the  gorge  will  guide 
through  it.  It  is  not  a  cul  de  sac ,  shut  in  with  preci¬ 
pices  at  the  far  end ;  but  it  opens  out  on  shining  table¬ 
lands,  where  there  is  greener  pasture.  -The  rod  and 
staff  seem  to  be  two  names  for  one  instrument,  which 
was  used  both  to  beat  off  predatory  animals  and  to 
direct  the  sheep.  The  two  synonyms  and  the  ap¬ 
pended  pronoun  express  by  their  redundancy  the  full 
confidence  of  the  psalmist.  He  will  not  fear,  though 
there  are  grounds  enough  for  terror,  in  the  dark  valley ; 
and  though  sense  prompts  him  to  dread,  he  conquers 
fear  because  he  trusts.  “  Comfort  ”  suggests  a  struggle, 
or,  as  Calvin  says,  “  Quorsum  enim  consolatio  ipsa,  nisi 
quia  metus  eum  solicitat  ?  ” 

The  second  image  of  the  Divine  Host  and  His  guest 
is  expanded  in  vv.  5,  6.  The  ideas  are  substantially 
the  same  as  in  the  first  part.  Repose  and  provision, 
danger  and  change,  again  fill  the  foreground  ;  and  again 
there  is  forecast  of  a  more  remote  future.  But  all  is 
intensified,  the  need  and  the  supply  being  painted  in 
stronger  colours  and  the  hope  being  brighter.  The 
devout  man  is  God’s  guest  while  he  marches  through 
foes,  and  travels  towards  perpetual  repose  in  the  house 
of  Jehovah. 

Jehovah  supplies  His  servants’  wants  in  the  midst  of 
conflict  The  table  spread  in  the  sight  of  the  enemy  is 


xxiii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


231 


a  more  signal  token  of  care  and  power  than  the  green 
pastures  are.  Life  is  not  only  journey  and  effort,  but 
conflict ;  and  it  is  possible  not  only  to  have  seasons  of 
refreshment  interspersed  in  the  weary  march,  but  to 
find  a  sudden  table  spread  by  the  same  unseen  hand 
which  holds  back  the  foes,  who  look  on  with  grim  eyes, 
powerless  to  intercept  the  sustenance  or  disturb  the 
guests.  This  is  the  condition  of  God’s  servant — always 
conflict,  but  always  a  spread  table.  Joy  snatched  in 
the  face  of  danger  is  specially  poignant.  The  flowers 
that  bloom  on  the  brink  of  a  cataract  are  bright,  and 
their  tremulous  motion  adds  a  charm.  Special  experi¬ 
ences  of  God’s  sufficiency  are  wont  to  come  in  seasons 
of  special  difficulty,  as  many  a  true  heart  knows.  It  is 
no  scanty  meal  that  waits  God’s  soldier  under  such  cir¬ 
cumstances,  but  a  banquet  accompanied  with  signs  of 
festivity,  viz.,  the  head  anointed  with  oil  and  the  cup 
which  is  “fulness.”  God’s  supplies  are  wont  to  surpass 
the  narrow  limits  of  need  and  even  to  transcend 
capacity,  having  a  something  over  which  as  yet  we  are 
unable  to  take  in,  but  which  is  not  disproportioned  or 
wasted,  since  it  widens  desire  and  thereby  increases 
receptivity. 

In  the  last  verse  we  seem  to  pass  to  pure  anticipa¬ 
tion.  Memory  melts  into  hope,  and  that  brighter  than 
the  forecast  which  closed  the  first  part.  There  the 
psalmist’s  trust  simply  refused  to  yield  to  fear,  while 
keenly  conscious  of  evil  which  might  warrant  it ;  but 
here  he  has  risen  higher,  and  the  alchemy  of  his  happy 
faith  and  experience  has  converted  evil  into  something 
fairer.  “  Only  good  and  mercy  shall  follow  me.” 
There  is  no  evil  for  the  heart  wedded  to  Jehovah  ; 
there  are  no  foes  to  pursue,  but  two  bright-faced 
angels  walk  behind  him  as  his  rear-guard  It  is  much 


THE  PSALMS. 


232 

when  the  retrospect  of  life  can,  like  Jacob  on  his  death¬ 
bed,  see  “  the  Angel  which  redeemed  me  from  all 
evil  ” ;  but  it  is  perhaps  more  when  the  else  fearful 
heart  can  look  forward  and  say  that  not  only  will 
it  fear  no  evil,  but  that  nothing  but  blessings,  the 
outcome  of  God’s  mercy,  will  ever  reach  it. 

The  closing  hope  of  dwelling  in  the  house  of  Jehovah 
to  length  of  days  rises  above  even  the  former  verse. 
The  singer  knew  himself  a  guest  of  God’s  at  the  table 
spread  before  the  foe,  but  that  was,  as  it  were,  refresh¬ 
ment  on  the  march,  while  this  is  continual  abiding  in 
the  home.  Such  an  unbroken  continuity  of  abode  in 
the  house  of  Jehovah  is  a  familiar  aspiration  in  other 
psalms,  and  is  always  regarded  as  possible  even  while 
hands  are  engaged  in  ordinary  duties  and  cares.  The 
psalms  which  conceive  of  the  religious  life  under  this 
image  are  marked  by  a  peculiar  depth  and  inward¬ 
ness.  They  are  wholesomely  mystical.  The  hope 
of  this  guest  of  God’s  is  that,  by  the  might  of  fixed 
faith  and  continual  communion,  he  may  have  his  life 
so  hid  in  God  that  wherever  he  goes  he  may  still  be 
in  His  house,  and  whatever  he  does  he  may  still  be 
“inquiring  in  His  temple.”  The  hope  is  here  con¬ 
fined  to  the  earthly  present,  but  the  Christian  reading  of 
the  psalm  can  scarcely  fail  to  transfer  the  words  to  a 
future.  God  will  bring  those  whom  He  has  fed  and 
guided  in  journeying  and  conflict  to  an  unchanging 
mansion  in  a  home  beyond  the  stars.  Here  we  eat 
at  a  table  spread  with  pilgrims’  food,  manna  from 
heaven  and  water  from  the  rock.  We  eat  in  haste 
and  with  an  eye  on  the  foe,  but  we  may  hope  to  sit 
down  at  another  table  in  the  perfected  kingdom.  The 
end  of  the  fray  is  the  beginning  of  the  feast.  "  We 
shall  go  no  more  out,” 


PSALM  XXIV. 


1  Jehovah’s  is  the  earth,  and  what  fills  it, 

The  world  and  the  dwellers  therein. 

2  For  He — upon  the  seas  He  founded  it, 

And  upon  the  floods  established  it. 

3  Who  may  ascend  into  the  hill  of  Jehovah, 

And  who  may  stand  in  His  holy  place  ? 

4  The  clean-handed  and  pure-hearted, 

Who  lifts  not  his  desire  to  vanity, 

And  swears  not  to  falsehood. 

5  He  shall  receive  blessing  from  Jehovah 

And  righteousness  from  the  God  of  his  salvation. 

6  This  is  the  generation  of  them  that  seek  Him, 

That  seek  Thy  face  ;  [this  is]  Jacob.  Selah. 

7  Lift  up,  O  gates,  your  heads, 

Yea,  lift  up  yourselves,  O  ancient  doors, 

That  the  King  of  glory  may  come  in. 

8  Who  then  is  the  King  of  glory  ? 

Jehovah,  strong  and  a  Champion, 

Jehovah,  a  Champion  in  battle. 

9  Lift  up,  O  gates,  your  heads, 

Yea,  lift  them  up,  O  ancient  doors, 

That  the  King  of  glory  may  come  in. 

IO  Who  is  He,  then,  the  King  of  glory  ? 

Jehovah  of  hosts, 

He  is  the  King  of  glory.  Selah. 

E WALD’S  widely  accepted  view  that  this  psalm 
is  a  composite  of  two  fragments  rests  on  a  some¬ 
what  exaggerated  estimate  of  the  differences  in  tone 
and  structure  of  the  parts.  These  are  obvious,  but  do 
pot  demand  the  hypothesis  of  compilation  ;  and  the 

233 


234 


THE  PSALMS. 


original  author  has  as  good  a  right  to  be  credited  with 
the  uniting  thought  as  the  supposed  editor  has.  The 
usually  alleged  occasion  of  the  psalm  fits  its  tone  so 
well  and  gives  such  appropriateness  to  some  of  its 
phrases  that  stronger  reasons  than  are  forthcoming 
are  required  to  negative  it.  The  account  in  2  Sam. 
vi.  tells  of  exuberant  enthusiasm  and  joy,  of  which 
some  echo  sounds  in  the  psalm.  It  is  a  processional 
hymn,  celebrating  Jehovah’s  entrance  to  His  house  ; 
and  that  one  event,  apprehended  on  its  two  sides, 
informs  the  whole.  Hence  the  two  halves  have  the 
same  interchange  of  question  and  answer,  and  the 
two  questions  correspond,  the  one  inquiring  the  cha¬ 
racter  of  the  men  who  dare  dwell  with  God,  the 
other  the  name  of  the  God  who  dwells  with  men. 
The  procession  is  climbing  the  steep  to  the  gates  of 
the  ancient  Jebusite  fortress,  recently  won  by  David. 
As  it  climbs,  the  song  proclaims  Jehovah  as  the 
universal  Lord,  basing  the  truth  of  His  special  dwell¬ 
ing  in  Zion  upon  that  of  His  world-wide  rule.  The 
question,  so  fitting  the  lips  of  the  climbers,  is  asked, 
possibly  in  solo,  and  the  answer  describing  the 
qualifications  of  true  worshippers,  and  possibly  choral 
(vv.  3-6),  is  followed  by  a  long-drawn  musical  interlude. 
Now  the  barred  gates  are  reached.  A  voice  summons 
them  to  open.  The  guards  within,  or  possibly  the 
gates  themselves,  endowed  by  the  poet  with  conscious¬ 
ness  and  speech,  ask  who  thus  demands  entrance. 
The  answer  is  a  triumphant  shout  from  the  procession. 
But  the  question  is  repeated,  as  if  to  allow  of  the  still 
fuller  reiteration  of  Jehovah’s  name,  which  shakes  the 
grey  walls ;  and  then,  with  clang  of  trumpets  and  clash 
of  cymbals,  the  ancient  portals  creak  open,  and  Jehovah 
“  enters  into  His  rest,  He  and  the  ark  of  His  strength,” 


xxiv.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


235 


Jehovah’s  dwelling  on  Zion  did  not  mean  His 
desertion  of  the  rest  of  the  world,  nor  did  His  choice  of 
Israel  imply  His  abdication  of  rule  over,  or  withdrawal 
of  blessings  from,  the  nations.  The  light  which 
glorified  the  bare  hilltop,  where  the  Ark  rested,  was 
reflected  thence  over  all  the  world.  “  The  glory  ”  was 
there  concentrated,  not  confined.  This  psalm  guards 
against  all  superstitious  misconceptions,  and  protests 
against  national  narrowness,  in  exactly  the  same  way 
as  Exod.  xix.  5  bases  Israel’s  selection  from  among  all 
peoples  on  the  fact  that  “  all  the  earth  is  Mine.” 

“  Who  may  ascend  ?  ”  was  a  picturesquely  appro¬ 
priate  question  for  singers  toiling  upwards,  and  “  who 
may  stand  ?  ”  for  those  who  hoped  presently  to  enter 
the  sacred  presence.  The  Ark  which  they  bore  had 
brought  disaster  to  Dagon’s  temple,  so  that  the  Philistine 
lords  had  asked  in  terror,  “  Who  is  able  to  stand 
before  this  holy  Lord  God  ?  ”  and  at  Beth-shemesh 
its  presence  had  been  so  fatal  that  David  had  abandoned 
the  design  of  bringing  it  up  and  said,  “  How  shall  the 
ark  of  the  Lord  come  to  me  ?  ”  The  answer,  which 
lays  down  the  qualifications  of  true  dwellers  in 
Jehovah’s  house,  may  be  compared  with  the  similar 
outlines  of  ideal  character  in  Psalm  xv.  and  Isa.  xxxiii. 
14.  The  one  requirement  is  purity.  Here  that  re¬ 
quirement  is  deduced  from  the  majesty  of  Jehovah,  as 
set  forth  in  vv.  1,  2,  and  from  the  designation  of  His 
dwelling  as  u  holy.”  This  is  the  postulate  of  the 
whole  Psalter.  In  it  the  approach  to  Jehovah  is  purely 
spiritual,  even  while  the  outward  access  is  used  as  a 
symbol ;  and  the  conditions  are  of  the  same  nature 
as  the  approach.  The  general  truth  implied  "is  that 
the  character  of  the  God  determines  the  character  of 
the  worshippers.  Worship  is  supreme  admiration, 


THE  PSALMS. 


236 

culminating  in  imitation.  Its  law  is  always  “They 
that  make  them  are  like  unto  them  ;  so  is  every  one 
that  trusteth  in  them.”  A  god  of  war  will  have 
warriors,  and  a  god  of  lust  sensualists,  for  his  devotees. 
The  worshippers  in  Jehovah’s  holy  place  must  be  holy. 
The  details  of  the  answer  are  but  the  echoes  of  a 
conscience  enlightened  by  the  perception  of  His  cha¬ 
racter.  "Tn  ver.  4  it  may  be  noted  that  of  the  four 
aspects  of  purity  enumerated  the  two  central  refer 
to  the  inward  life  {pure  heart ;  lifts  not  his  desire 
unto  vanity),  and  these  are  embedded,  as  it  were,  in 
the  outward  life  of  deeds  and  words.  Purity  of  act 
is  expressed  by  “  clean  hands  ” — neither  red  with 
blood,  nor  foul  with  grubbing  in  dunghills  for  gold 
and  other  so-called  good.  Purity  of  speech  is  con¬ 
densed  into  the  one  virtue  of  truthfulness  ( swears  not 
to  a  falsehood).  But  the  outward  will  only  be  right 
if  the  inward  disposition  is  pure,  and  that  inward 
purity  will  only  be  realised  when  desires  are  care¬ 
fully  curbed  and  directed.  As  is  the  desire,  so  is  the 
man.  Therefore  the  prime  requisite  for  a  pure  heart 
is  the  withdrawal  of  affection,  esteem,  and  longing  from 
the  solid-seeming  illusions  of  sense.  “Vanity”  has, 
indeed,  the  special  meaning  of  idols,  but  the  notion  of 
earthly  good  apart  from  God  is  more  relevant  here. 

In  ver.  5  the  possessor  of  such  purity  is  represented 
as  receiving  “  a  blessing,  even  righteousness,”  from  God, 
which  is  by  many  taken  to  mean  beneficence  on  the  part 
of  God,  “  inasmuch  as,  according  to  the  Hebrew  religious 
view  of  the  world,  all  good  is  regarded  as  reward 
from  God’s  retributive  righteousness,  and  consequently 
as  that  of  man’s  own  righteousness  or  right  conduct  ” 
(Hupfeld).  The  expression  is  thus  equivalent  to  “  sal¬ 
vation  ”  in  the  next  clause.  But,  while  the  word  has 


xxiv.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


237 


this  meaning  in  some  places,  it  does  not  seem  neces¬ 
sary  to  adopt  it  here,  where  the  ordinary  meaning  is 
quite  appropriate.  Such  a  man  as  is  described  in  ver.  4 
will  have  God’s  blessing  on  his  efforts  after  purity,  and 
a  Divine  gift  will  furnish  him  with  that  which  he  strives 
after.  The  hope  is  not  lit  by  the  full  sunshine  of  New 
Testament  truth,  but  it  approximates  thereto.  It  dimly 
anticipates  “  Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst 
after  righteousness  ”  ;  and  it  feels  after  the  great  thought 
that  the  highest  righteousness  is  not  to  be  won,  but  to 
be  accepted,  even  while  it  only  asserts  that  man’s  effort 
after  must  precede  his  possession  of  righteousness. 
We  can  give  the  words  a  deeper  meaning,  and  see  in 
them  the  dawn  of  the  later  teaching  that  righteousness 
must  be  “  received”  from  “the  God  of  salvation.” 

Ver.  6  seems  to  carry  the  adumbration  of  truth  not 
yet  disclosed  a  step  further.  A  great  planet  is  trembling 
into  visibility,  and  is  divined  before  it  is  seen.  The 
emphasis  in  ver.  6  is  on  “  seek,”  and  the  implication 
is  that  the  men  who  seek  find.  If  we  seek  God’s  face, 
we  shall  receive  purity.  There  the  psalm  touches  the 
foundation.  The  Divine  heart  so  earnestly  desires  to 
give  righteousness  that  to  seek  is  to  find.  In  that  region 
a  wish  brings  an  answer,  and  no  outstretched  hand 
remains  empty.  Things  of  less  worth  have  to  be  toiled 
and  fought  for ;  but  the  most  precious  of  all  is  a  gift, 
to  be  had  for  the  asking.  That  thought  did  not  stand 
clearly  before  the  Old  Testament  worshippers,  but 
it  struggles  towards  expression  in  many  a  psalm, 
as  it  could  not  but  do  whenever  a  devout  heart  pon-* 
dered  the  problems  of  conduct.  We  have  abundant 
warnings  against  the  anachronism  of  thrusting  New 
Testament  doctrine  into  the  Psalms,  but  it  is  no  less 
one-sided  to  ignore  anticipations  which  could  not  but 


238 


THE  PSALMS. 


spring  up  where  there  was  earnest  wrestling  with  the 
thoughts  of  sin  and  of  the  need  for  purity. 

Are  we  to  adopt  the  supplement,  “  O  God  of,”  before 
the  abrupt  “Jacob  ”  ?  The  clause  is  harsh  in  any  con¬ 
struction.  The  preceding  “  thy  ”  seems  to  require  the 
addition,  as  God  is  not  directly  addressed  elsewhere  in 
the  psalm.  On  the  other  hand,  the  declaration  that  such 
seeker^_are  the  true  people  of  God  is  a  worthy  close  of 
the  whole  description,  and  the  reference  to  the  “face  ” 
of  God  verbally  recalls  Peniel  and  that  wonderful 
incident  when  Jacob  became  Israel.  The  seeker  after 
God  will  have  that  scene  repeated,  and  be  able  to  say, 
“I  have  seen  God.”  The  abrupt  introduction  of 
“Jacob”  is  made  more  emphatic  by  the  musical  inter¬ 
lude  which  closes  the  first  part. 

There  is  a  pause,  while  the  procession  ascends  the 
hill  of  the  Lord,  revolving  the  stringent  qualifications 
for  entrance.  It  stands  before  the  barred  gates,  while 
possibly  part  of  the  choir  is  within.  The  advancing 
singers  summon  the  doors  to  open  and  receive  the  in¬ 
coming  Jehovah.  Their  portals  are  too  low  for  Him  to 
enter,  and  therefore  they  are  called  upon  to  lift  their 
lintels.  They  are  grey  with  age,  and  round  them  cluster 
long  memories;  therefore  they  are  addressed  as  “gates 
of  ancient  time.”  The  question  from  within  expresses 
ignorance  and  hesitation,  and  dramatically  represents 
the  ancient  gates  as  sharing  the  relation  of  the  former 
inhabitants  to  the  God  of  Israel,  whose  name  they  did 
not  know,  and  whose  authority  they  did  not  own.  It 
heightens  the  force  of  the  triumphant  shout  proclaiming 
His  mighty  name.  He  is  Jehovah,  the  self-existent  God, 
who  has  made  a  covenant  with  Israel,  and  fights  for  His 
people,  as  these  grey  walls  bear  witness.  His  warrior 
might  had  wrested  them  from  their  former  possessors,  and 


THE  PSALMS. 


239 


xxiv.] 


the  gates  must  open  for  their  Conqueror.  The  repeated 
question  is  pertinacious  and  animated :  “  Who  then 
is  He,  the  King  of  glory  ?  ”  as  if  recognition  and  sur¬ 
render  were  reluctant.  The  answer  is  sharp  and 
authoritative,  being  at  once  briefer  and  fuller.  It  peals 
forth  the  great  name  “Jehovah  of  hosts.”  There  may 
be  reference  in  the  name  to  God’s  command  of  the  armies 
of  Israel,  thereby  expressing  the  religious  character  01 
their  wars  ;  but  the  “  hosts  ”  include  the  angels,  “  His 
ministers  who  do  His  pleasure,”  and  the  stars,  of  which 
He  brings  forth  the  hosts  by  number.  In  fact,  the 
conception  underlying  the  name  is  that  of  the  universe 
as  an  ordered  whole,  a  disciplined  army,  a  cosmos 
obedient  to  His  voice.  It  is  the  same  conception  which 
the  centurion  had  learned  from  his  legion,  where  the 
utterance  of  one  will  moved  all  the  stern,  shining  ranks. 
That  mighty  name,  like  a  charge  of  explosives,  bursts 
the  gates  of  brass  asunder,  and  the  procession  sweeps 
through  them  amid  yet  another  burst  of  triumphant 
music. 


PSALM  XXV. 


1  (X)  Unto  Thee,  Jehovah,  I  uplift  my  soul ; 

[On  Thee  I  wait  all  the  day,  O  my  God  !]. 

2  (2)  On  Thee  I  hang:  let  me  not  be  put  to  shame; 

Let  not  my  enemies  exult  over  me. 

3  (3)  Yea,  all  who  wait  on  Thee  shall  not  be  put  to  shame  ; 

Put  to  shame  shall  they  be  who  faithlessly  forsake  Thee  without 
cause. 

4  (*1)  Thy  ways,  Jehovah,  make  me  to  know ; 

Thy  paths  teach  Thou  me. 

5  (H)  Make  me  walk  in  Thy  troth,  and  teach  me, 

For  Thou  art  the  God  of  my  salvation. 

6  (t)  Remember  Thy  compassions,  Jehovah,  and  Thy  loving-kind* 

nesses, 

For  from  of  old  are  they. 

7  (PI)  Sins  of  my  youth  and  my  transgression  remember  not ; 
According  to  Thy  loving-kindness  remember  me, 

For  Thy  goodness’  sake,  Jehovah. 

8  (L3)  Good  and  upright  is  Jehovah; 

Therefore  He  instructs  sinners  in  the  way. 

9  C)  He  will  cause  the  meek  to  walk  in  that  which  is  right, 

And  will  teach  the  meek  His  way. 

10  (D)  All  the  paths  of  Jehovah  are  loving-kindness  and  troth 
To  keepers  of  His  covenant  and  His  testimonies. 

11  (* ? )  For  Thy  name’s  sake,  Jehovah, 

Pardon  my  iniquity,  for  great  is  it. 

12  (D)  Who,  then,  is  the  man  who  fears  Jehovah  ? 

He  will  instruct  him  in  the  way  he  should  choose. 

13  (3)  Himself  shall  dwell  in  prosperity, 

And  his  seed  shall  possess  the  land. 

14  (D)  The  secret  of  Jehovah  is  [told]  to  them  that  fear  Him, 

And  His  covenant  He  makes  them  know. 

15  (1?)  My  eyes  are  continually  toward  Jehovah, 

For  He,  He  shall  bring  out  my  feet  from  the  net. 

240 


XXV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


241 


16  (D)  Turn  Thee  unto  me,  and  be  gracious  to  me, 

For  solitary  and  afflicted  am  I. 

17  (V)  The  straits  of  my  heart  do  Thou  enlarge  (?), 

And  from  my  distresses  bring  me  out. 

8  (1)  Look  on  my  affliction  and  my  travail, 

And  lift  away  all  my  sins. 

19  ("I)  Look  on  my  enemies,  for  they  are  many, 

And  they  hate  me  with  cruel  hate. 

20  (£^)  Keep  my  soul  and  deliver  me  ; 

Let  me  not  be  put  to  shame,  for  I  have  taken  refuge  in  Thee. 

21  (]-|)  Let  integrity  and  uprightness  guard  me, 

For  I  wait  on  Thee. 

22  Redeem  Israel,  O  God, 

From  all  his  straits. 


THE  recurrence  of  the  phrase  “lift  up  the  80111” 
may  have  determined  the  place  of  this  psalm  next 
to  Psalm  xxiv.  It  is  acrostic,  but  with  irregularities. 
As  the  text  now  stands,  the  second,  not  the  first,  word 
in  ver.  2  begins  with  Beth  ;  Vav  is  omitted  or  repre¬ 
sented  in  the  “  and  teach  me  ”  of  the  He  verse  (ver.  5)  ; 
Qoph  is  also  omitted,  and  its  place  taken  by  a  super¬ 
numerary  Resh,  which  letter  has  thus  two  verses 
(18,  19)  ;  and  ver.  22  begins  with  Pe,  and  is  outside  the 
scheme  of  the  psalm,  both  as  regards  alphabetic  struc¬ 
ture  and  subject.  The  same  peculiarities  of  deficient 
Vav  and  superfluous  Pe  verses  reappear  in  another 
acrostic  psalm  (xxxiv.),  in  which  the  initial  word  of  the 
last  verse  is,  as  here,  “  redeem.”  Possibly  the  two 
psalms  are  connected. 

The  fetters  of  the  acrostic  structure  forbid  freedom 
and  progress  of  thought,  and  almost  compel  repetition. 
It  is  fitted  for  meditative  reiteration  of  favourite  emotions 
or  familiar  axioms,  and  results  in  a  loosely  twined 
wreath  rather  than  in  a  column  with  base,  shaft,  and 
capital.  A  slight  trace  of  consecution  of  parts  may  be 
noticed  in  the  division  of  the  verses  (excluding  ver.  22) 

1 6 


242 


THE  PSALMS. 


into  three  sevens,  of  which  the  first  is  prayer,  the 
second  meditation  on  the  Divine  character  and  the 
blessings  secured  by  covenant  to  them  who  fear  Him, 
and  the  third  is  bent  round,  wreath-like,  to  meet  the 
first,  and  is  again  prayer.  Such  alternation  of  petition 
and  contemplation  is  like  the  heart’s  beat  of  the  religious 
life,  now  expanding  in  desire,  now  closing  in  possession. 
The  psalm  has  no  marks  of  occasion  or  period.  It 
deals  with  the  permanent  elements  in  a  devout  man’s 
relation  to  God. 

The  first  prayer-section  embraces  the  three  standing 
needs  :  protection,  guidance,  and  forgiveness.  With 
these  are  intertwined  their  pleas  according  to  the  logic 
of  faith — the  suppliant’s  uplifted  desires  and  God’s 
eternal  tenderness  and  manifested  mercy.  The  order 
of  mention  of  the  needs  proceeds  from  without  inwards, 
for  protection  from  enemies  is  superficial  as  compared 
with  illumination  as  to  duty,  and  deeper  than  even  that, 
as  well  as  prior  in  order  of  time  (and  therefore  last  in 
order  of  enumeration),  is  pardon.  Similarly  the  pleas 
go  deeper  as  they  succeed  each  other ;  for  the  psalmist’s 
trust  and  waiting  is  superficial  as  compared  with  the  plea 
breathed  in  the  name  of  “  the  God  of  my  salvation  ”  ; 
and  that  general  designation  leads  to  the  gaze  upon  the 
ancient  and  changeless  mercies,  which  constitute  the 
measure  and  pattern  of  God’s  working  ( according  to, 
ver.  7),  and  upon  the  self-originated  motive,  which  is 
the  deepest  and  strongest  of  all  arguments  with  Him 
( for  Thy  goodness'  sake ,  ver.  7). 

A  qualification  of  the  guest  in  God’s  house  was  in 
Psalm  xxiv.  the  negative  one  that  he  did  not  lift  up  his 
soul — i.e.,  set  his  desires — on  the  emptinesses  of  time 
and  sense.  Here  the  psalmist  begins  with  the  plea 
that  he  has  set  his  on  Jehovah,  and,  as  the  position  01 


XXV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


243 


“Unto  Thee,  Jehovah/'  at  the  beginning  shows,  on  Him 
alone.  The  very  nature  of  such  aspiration  after  God 
demands  that  it  shall  be  exclusive.  “  All  in  all  or  not 
at  all  "  is  the  requirement  of  true  devotion,  and  such 
completeness  is  not  attained  without  continual  with¬ 
drawal  of  desire  from  created  good.  The  tendrils  of 
the  heart  must  be  untwined  from  other  props  before 
they  can  be  wreathed  round  their  true  stay.  The 
irregularity  in  ver.  2,  where  the  second,  not  the  first, 
word  of  the  verse  begins  with  Beth,  may  be  attenuated 
by  treating  the  Divine  name  as  outside  the  acrostic 
order.  An  acute  conjecture,  however,  that  the  last 
clause  of  ver.  5  really  belongs  to  ver.  I  and  should 
include  “  my  God  ”  now  in  ver.  2,  has  much  in  its 
favour.  Its  transposition  restores  to  both  verses  the 
two-claused  structure  which  runs  through  the  psalm, 
gets  rid  of  the  acrostical  anomaly,  and  emphasises  the 
subsequent  reference  to  those  who  wait  on  Jehovah 
in  ver.  3. 

In  that  case  ver.  2  begins  with  the  requisite  letter. 
It  passes  from  plea  to  petition :  “  Let  me  not  be 
shamed.”  Trust  that  was  not  vindicated  by  deliver¬ 
ance  would  cover  the  face  with  confusion.  “  Hopes 
that  breed  not  shame  ”  are  the  treasure  of  him  whose 
hope  is  in  Jehovah.  Foes  unnamed  threaten  ;  but  the 
stress  of  the  petitions  in  the  first  section  of  the  psalm 
is  less  on  enemies  than  on  sins.  One  cry  for  protec¬ 
tion  from  the  former  is  all  that  the  psalmist  utters,  and 
then  his  prayer  swiftly  turns  to  deeper  needs.  In  the 
last  section  the  petitions  are  more  exclusively  for 
deliverance  from  enemies.  Needful  as  such  escape  is, 
it  is  less  needful  than  the  knowledge  of  God’s  ways, 
and  the  man  in  extremest  peril  orders  his  desires  rightly, 
if  he  asks  holiness  first  and  safety  second.  The  cry 


244 


THE  PSALMS. 


in  ver.  2  rests  upon  the  confidence  nobly  expressed 
in  ver.  3,  in  which  the  verbs  are  not  optatives,  but 
futures,  declaring  a  truth  certain  to  be  realised  in  the 
psalmist’s  experience,  because  it  is  true  for  all  who, 
like  him,  wait  on  Jehovah.  True  prayer  is  the  indi¬ 
vidual’s  sheltering  himself  under  the  broad  folds  of 
.  the  mantle  that  covers  all  who  pray.  The  double 
confidence  as  to  the  waiters  on  Jehovah  and  the 
“  treacherous  without  cause  ”  is  the  summary  of  human 
experience  as  read  by  faith.  Sense  has  much  to 
adduce  in  contradiction,  but  the  dictum  is  nevertheless 
true,  only  its  truth  does  not  always  appear  in  the  small 
arc  of  the  circle  which  lies  between  cradle  and  grave. 

The  prayer  for  deliverance  glides  into  that  for 
guidance,  since  the  latter  is  the  deeper  need,  and  the 
former  will  scarcely  be  answered  unless  the  suppliant’s 
will  docilely  offers  the  latter.  The  soul  lifted  to 
Jehovah  will  long  to  know  His  will  and  submit  itself 
to  His  manifold  teachings.  “Thy  ways”  and  “Thy 
paths  ”  necessarily  mean  here  the  ways  in  which 
Jehovah  desires  that  the  psalmist  should  go.  “In 
Thy  truth  ”  is  ambiguous,  both  as  to  the  preposition 
and  the  noun.  The  clause  may  either  present  God’s 
truth  (t.e.f  faithfulness)  as  His  motive  for  answering 
the  prayer,  or  His  truth  (i.e.y  the  objective  revela¬ 
tion)  as  the  path  for  men.  Predominant  usage  inclines 
to  the  former  signification  of  the  noun,  but  the  possi¬ 
bility  still  remains  of  regarding  God’s  faithfulness  as 
the  path  in  which  the  psalmist  desires  to~  be  led,  i.e. 
to  experience  it.  The  cry  for  forgiveness  strikes  a 
deeper  note  of  pathos,  and,  as  asking  a  more  won¬ 
drous  blessing,  grasps  still  more  firmly  the  thought 
ol  what  Jehovah  is  and  always  has  been.  The 
appeal  is  made  to  “  Thy  compassions  and  loving- 


XXV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


245 


kindnesses,”  as  belonging  to  His  nature,  and  to 
their  past  exercise  as  having  been  “from  of  old.” 
Emboldened  thus,  the  psalmist  can  look  back  on  his 
own  past,  both  on  his  outbursts  of  youthful  passion 
and  levity,  which  he  calls  “failures,”  as  missing  the 
mark,  and  on  the  darker  evils  of  later  manhood,  which 
he  calls  “rebellions,”  and  can  trust  that  Jehovah  will 
think  upon  him  according  to  His  mercy ,  and  for  the 
sake  of  His  goodness  or  love.  The  vivid  realisation 
of  that  Eternal  Mercy  as  the  very  mainspring  of  God’s 
actions,  and  as  setting  forth,  in  many  an  ancient 
deed,  the  eternal  pattern  of  His  dealings,  enables  a 
man  to  bear  the  thousht  of  his  own  sins. 

o 

The  contemplation  of  the  Divine  character  prepares 
the  way  for  the  transition  to  the  second  group  of  seven 
verses,  which  are  mainly  meditation  on  that  character 
and  on  God’s  dealings  and  the  blessedness  of  those 
who  fear  Him  (vv.  8-14).  The  thought  of  God  beauti¬ 
fully  draws  the  singer  from  himself.  How  deeply  and 
lovingly  he  had  pondered  on  the  name  of  the  Lord 
before  he  attained  to  the  grand  truth  that  His  goodness 
and  very  uprightness  pledged  Him  to  show  sinners 
where  they  should  walk !  Since  there  is  at  the  heart 
of  things  an  infinitely  pure  and  equally  loving  Being, 
nothing  is  more  impossible  than  that  He  should  wrap 
Himself  in  thick  darkness  and  leave  men  to  grope  after 
duty.  Revelation  of  the  path  of  life  in  some  fashion  is 
the  only  conduct  consistent  with  His  character.  All 
presumptions  are  in  favour  of  such  Divine  teaching; 
and  the  fact  of  sin  makes  it  only  the  more  certain.  That 
fact  may  separate  men  from  God,  but  not  God  Irom 
men,  and  if  they  transgress,  the  more  need,  both  in 
their  characters  and  in  God’s,  is  there  that  He  should 
speak.  But  while  their  being  sinners  does  not  prevent 


246 


THE  PSALMS. 


His  utterance,  their  disposition  determines  their  actual 
reception  of  His  teaching,  and  “  the  meek  ”  or  lowly 
of  heart  are  His  true  scholars.  His  instruction  is  not 
wasted  on  them,  and,  being  welcomed,  is  increased. 
A  fuller  communication  of  His  will  rewards  the  humble 
acceptance  of  it.  Sinners  are  led  in  the  way ;  the 
meek  -are  taught  His  way.  Here  the  conception  of 
God’s  way  is  in  transition  from  its  meaning  in  ver. 
4  to  that  in  ver.  10,  where  it  distinctly  must  mean  His 
manner  of  dealing  with  men.  They  who  accept  His 
teaching,  and  order  their  paths  as  He  would  have  them 
do,  will  learn  that  the  impulse  and  meaning  of  all 
which  He  does  to  them  are  “  mercy  and  -truth,”  the  two 
great  attributes  to  which  the  former  petitions  appealed, 
and  which  the  humble  of  heart,  who  observe  the 
conditions  of  God’s  covenant  which  is  witness  of  His 
own  character  and  of  their  duty,  will  see  gleaming  with 
lambent  light  even  in  calamities. 

The  participators,  then,  in  this  blessed  knowledge 
have  a  threefold  character  :  sinners ;  humble ;  keepers 
of  the  covenant  and  testimonies.  The  thought  of  these 
requirements  drives  the  psalmist  back  on  himself,  as  it 
will  do  all  devout  souls,  and  forces  from  him  a  short 
ejaculation  of  prayer,  which  breaks  with  much  pathos 
and  beauty  the  calm  flow  of  contemplation.  The 
pleas  for  forgiveness  of  the  “iniquity”  which  makes 
him  feel  unworthy  of  Jehovah’s  guidance  are  remark¬ 
able.  “  For  Thy  name’s  sake  ”  appeals  to  the  revealed 
character  of  God,  as  concerned  in  the  suppliant’s  pardon, 
inasmuch  as  it  will  be  honoured  thereby,  and  God 
will  be  true  to  Himself  in  forgiving.  “  For  it  is  great  ” 
speaks  the  boldness  of  helplessness.  The  magnitude 
of  sin  demands  a  Divine  intervention.  None  else  than 
God  can  deal  with  it.  Faith  makes  the  very  greatness 


XXV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


24  7 


of  sin  and  extremity  of  need  a  reason  for  God’s  act  of 
pardon. 

Passing  from  self,  the  singer  again  recurs  to  his 
theme,  reiterating  in  vivid  language  and  with  some 
amplification  the  former  thoughts.  In  vv.  8-10  the 
character  of  Jehovah  was  the  main  subject,  and  the 
men  whom  He  blessed  were  in  the  background.  In 
vv.  12-14  they  stand  forward.  Their  designation  now 
is  the  wide  one  of  “those  who  fear  Jehovah,”  and  the 
blessings  they  receive  are,  first,  that  of  being  taught  the 
way,  which  has  been  prominent  thus  far,  but  here  has  a 
new  phase,  as  being  “  the  way  that  he  should  choose  ” ; 
i.e .,  God’s  teaching  illuminates  the  path,  and  tells  a  man 
what  he  ought  to  do,  while  his  freedom  of  choice  is 
uninfringed.  Next,  outward  blessings  of  settled  pros¬ 
perity  shall  be  his,  and  his  children  shall  have  the 
promises  to  Israel  fulfilled  in  their  possession  of  the 
land.  These  outward  blessings  belong  to  the  Old 
Testament  epoch,  and  can  only  partially  be  applied 
to  the  present  stage  of  Providence.  But  the  final 
element  of  the  good  man’s  blessedness  (ver.  14)  is 
eternally  true.  Whether  we  translate  the  first  word 
“secret  ”  or  “friendship,”  the  sense  is  substantially  the 
same.  Obedience  and  the  true  fear  of  Jehovah  directly 
tend  to  discernment  of  His  purposes,  and  will  besides 
be  rewarded  by  whispers  from  heaven.  God  would  not 
hide  from  Abraham  what  He  would  do,  and  still  His 
friend  will  know  His  mind  better  than  the  disobedient. 
The  last  clause  of  ver.  14  is  capable  of  various  render¬ 
ings.  “  His  covenant  ”  may  be  in  the  accusative,  and 
the  verb  a  periphrastic  future,  as  the  A.V.  takes  it,  or 
the  former  word  may  be  nominative,  and  the  clause  be 
rendered,  “  And  His  covenant  [is]  to  make  them  to 
know.”  But  the  absolute  use  of  the  verb  without  a 


248 


THE  PSALMS. 


specification  of  the  object  taught  is  somewhat  harsh,  and 
probably  the  former  rendering  is  to  be  preferred.  The 
deeper  teaching  of  the  covenant  which  follows  on  the 
fear  ,  of  the  Lord  includes  both  its  obligations  and 
blessings,  and  the  knowledge  is  not  mere  intellectual 
perception,  but  vital  experience.  In  this  region  life  is 
knowledge,  and  knowledge  life.  Whoso  “keeps  His 
covenant  ”  (ver.  10)  will  ever  grow  in  appropriation  of 
its  blessings  and  apprehension  of  its  obligations  by  his 
submissive  will. 

The  third  heptad  of  verses  returns  to  simple  petition, 
and  that,  with  one  exception  (ver.  18  b ),  for  deliverance 
from  enemies.  This  recurrence,  in  increased  intensity, 
of  the  consciousness  of  hostility  is  not  usual,  for  the 
psalms  which  begin  with  it  generally  pray  themselves 
out  of  it.  “  The  peace  which  passeth  understanding,” 
which  is  the  best  answer  to  prayer,  has  not  fully 
settled  on  the  heaving  sea.  A  heavy  ground  swell 
runs  in  these  last  short  petitions,  which  all  mean  sub¬ 
stantially  the  same  thing.  But  there  is  a  beginning 
of  calm  ;  and  the  renewed  petitions  are  a  pattern  of 
that  continual  knocking  of  which  such  great  things  are 
said  and  recorded  in  Scripture.  The  section  begins 
with  a  declaration  of  patient  expectance :  “  Mine  eyes 
are  ever  towards  Jehovah,”  with  wistful  fixedness  which 
does  not  doubt  though  it  has  long  to  look.  Nets  are 
wrapped  round  his  feet,  inextricably  but  for  one  hand. 
We  can  bear  to  feel  our  limbs  entangled  and  fettered,  if 
our  eyes  are  free  to  gaze,  and  fixed  in  gazing,  upwards. 
The  desired  deliverance  is  thrice  presented  (ver.  16, 
“turn  unto”;  ver.  18,  “look  upon”;  ver.  19,  “consider,” 
lit.  look  upon)  as  the  result  of  Jehovah’s  face  being 
directed  towards  the  psalmist. 

When  Jehovah  turns  to  a  man,  the  light  streaming 


XXV.] 


THE  PSALMS \ 


249 


from  His  face  makes  darkness  day.  The  pains  on 
which  He  “  looks  ”  are  soothed ;  the  enemies  whom 
He  beholds  shrivel  beneath  His  eye.  The  psalmist 
believes  that  God’s  presence,  in  the  deeper  sense  of 
that  phrase,  as  manifested  partly  through  delivering 
acts  and  partly  through  inward  consciousness,  is  his 
one  need,  in  which  all  deliverances  and  gladnesses 
are  enwrapped.  He  plaintively  pleads,  “For  I  am 
alone  and  afflicted.”  The  soul  that  has  awakened  to 
the  sense  of  the  awful  solitude  of  personal  being,  and 
stretched  out  yearning  desires  to  the  only  God,  and 
felt  that  with  Him  it  would  know  no  pain  in  lone¬ 
liness,  will  not  cry  in  vain.  In  ver.  17  a  slight  altera¬ 
tion  in  the  text,  the  transference  of  the  final  Vav  of 
one  word  to  the  beginning  of  the  next,  gets  rid  of  the 
incongruous  phrase  “  are  enlarged  ”  as  applied  to 
troubles  (lit.  straits),  and  gives  a  prayer  which  is  in 
keeping  with  the  familiar  use  of  the  verb  in  reference  to 
afflictions  :  “  The  troubles  of  my  heart  do  Thou  enlarge 
[cf.  iv.  2  ;  xviii.  36],  and  from  my  distresses,”  etc. 
Ver.  18  should  begin  with  Qoph,  but  has  Resh,  which 
is  repeated  in  the  following  verse,  to  which  it  rightly 
belongs.  It  is  at  least  noteworthy  that  the  anomaly 
makes  the  petition  for  Jehovah’s  “  look  ”  more  emphatic, 
and  brings  into  prominence  the  twofold  direction  of  it. 
The  “  look  ”  on  the  psalmist’s  affliction  and  pain  will 
be  tender  and  sympathetic,  as  a  mother  eagle’s  on  her 
sick  eaglet ;  that  on  his  foes  will  be  stern  and  destruc¬ 
tive,  many  though  they  be.  In  ver.  1 1  the  prayer 
for  pardon  was  sustained  by  the  plea  that  the  sin  was 
“great”;  in  ver.  19  that  for  deliverance  from  foes 
rests  on  the  fact  that  “  they  are  many,”  for  which 
the  verb  cognate  with  the  adjective  of  ver.  1 1  is  used. 
Thus  both  dangers  without  and  evils  within  are  regarded 


I 


/ 


250  THE  PSALMS 

as  crying  out,  by  their  multitude,  for  God’s  interven¬ 
tion.  The  wreath  is  twined  so  that  its  end  is  brought 
round  to  its  beginning.  “  Let  me  not  be  ashamed, 
for  I  trust  in  Thee,”  is  the  second  petition  of  the  first 
part  repeated ;  and  “  I  wait  on*  Thee,”  which  is  the 
last  word  of  the  psalm,  omitting  the  superfluous  verse, 
echoes  the  clause  which  it  is  proposed  to  transfer  to 
ver.  I.  Thus  the  two  final  verses  correspond  to  the 
two  initial,  the  last  but  one  to  the  first  but  one,  and 
the  last  to  the  first.  The  final  prayer  is  that  “  integrity 
(probably  complete  devotion  of  heart  to  God)  and 
uprightness  ”  (in  relation  to  men)  may  preserve  him, 
as  guardian  angels  ;  but  this  does  not  assert  the  pos¬ 
session  of  these,  but  is  a  petition  for  the  gift  of  them 
quite  as  much  as  for  their  preserving  action.  The 
implication  of  that  petition  is  that  no  harm  can  imperil 
or  destroy  him  whom  these  characteristics  guard.  That 
is  true  in  the  whole  sweep  of  human  life,  however  often 
contradicted  in  the  judgment  of  sense. 

Like  Psalm  xxxiv.,  this  concludes  with  a  supplement¬ 
ary  verse  beginning  with  Pe,  a  letter  already  represented 
in  the  acrostic  scheme.  This  may  be  a  later  addition, 
for  liturgical  purposes. 


PSALM  XXVI. 


1  Judge  me,  Jehovah,  for  I — in  my  integrity  do  I  walk. 
And  in  Jehovah  do  I  trust  unwavering. 

2  Test  me,  Jehovah,  and  try  me, 

IVfy  reins  and  my  heart. 

3  For  Thy  loving-kindness  is  before  my  eyes, 

And  I  walk  in  Thy  troth. 

4  I  sit  not  with  men  of  vanity, 

And  with  those  who  mask  themselves  do  I  not  go. 

5  I  hate  the  congregation  of  evil-doers, 

And  with  the  wicked  I  do  not  sit. 

6  1  will  wash  my  hands  in  innocence, 

That  I  may  compass  Thine  altar,  Jehovah, 

7  To  cause  the  voice  of  praise  to  be  heard, 

And  to  tell  forth  all  Thy  wonders. 

8  Jehovah,  I  love  the  shelter  of  Thy  house, 

And  the  place  of  the  dwelling  of  Thy  glory. 

9  Take  not  away  with  sinners  my  soul, 

Nor  with  men  of  blood  my  life, 

10  In  whose  hands  is  outrage, 

And  their  right  hand  is  full  of  bribery. 

1 1  But  I — in  my  integrity  will  I  walk  ; 

Redeem  me,  and  be  gracious  to  me. 

12  My  foot  stands  on  level  ground; 

In  the  congregations  will  I  bless  Jehovah. 


HE  image  of  **  the  way  ”  which  is  characteristic  of 


JL  Psalm  xxv.  reappears  in  a  modified  form  in  this 
psalm,  which  speaks  of  “  walking  in  integrity  ”  and 
truth  and  of  “feet  standing  in  an  even  place.”  Other 
resemblances  to  the  preceding  psalm  are  the  use  of 


251 


252 


THE  PSALMS. 


“  redeem,”  “  be  merciful  ” ;  the  references  to  God’s 
loving-kindness  and  truth,  in  which  the  psalmist  walks, 
and  to  his  own  integrity.  These  similarities  may  or 
may  not  indicate  common  authorship,  but  probably 
guided  the  compilers  in  placing  the  psalm  here,  r  It  has 
not  clear  marks  of  date  or  of  the  writer’s  circumstances. 
Its  two  ground  tones  are  profession  of  integrity  and  of 
revulsion  from  the  society  of  the  wicked  and  prayer 
for  vindication  of  innocence  by  the  fact  of  deliverance. 
The  verses  are  usually  grouped  in  couples,  but  with 
some  irregularity. 

The  two  key-notes  are  both  struck  in  the  first  group 
of  three  verses,  in  which  vv.  2  and  3  are  substantially 
an  expansion  of  ver.  1.  The  prayer,  “Judge  me,” 
asks  for  a  Divine  act  of  deliverance  based  upon  a 
Divine  recognition  of  the  psalmist’s  sincerity  and 
unwavering  trust.  Both  the  prayer  and  its  ground 
are  startling.  It  grates  upon  ears  accustomed  to  the 
tone  of  the  New  Testament  that  a  suppliant  should 
allege  his  single-eyed  simplicity  and  steadfast  faith  as 
pleas  with  God,  and  the  strange  tone  sounds  on 
through  the  whole  psalm.  The  threefold  prayer  in 
ver.  2  courts  Divine  scrutiny,  as  conscious  of  innocence, 
and  bares  the  inmost  recesses  of  affection  and  impulse 
for  testing,  proving  by  circumstances,  and  smelting  by 
any  fire.  The  psalmist  is  ready  for  the  ordeal,  because 
he  has  kept  God’s  “  loving-kindness  ”  steadily  in  sight 
through  all  the  glamour  of  earthly  brightnesses,  and 
his  outward  life  has  been  all,  as  it  were,  transacted  in 
the  sphere  of  God’s  truthfulness ;  i.e.,  the  inward  con¬ 
templation  of  His  mercy  and  faithfulness  has  been  the 
active  principle  of  his  life.  Such  self-consciousness 
is  strange  enough  to  us,  but,  strange  as  it  is,  it  cannot 
fairly  be  stigmatised  as  Pharisaic  self-righteousness. 


xxvi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


253 


The  psalmist  knows  that  all  goodness  comes  from  God, 
and  he  clings  to  God  in  childlike  trust.  The  humblest 
Christian  heart  might  venture  in  similar  language  tc 
declare  its  recoil  from  evil-doers  and  its  deepest  spring 
of  action  as  being  trust.  Such  professions  are  not 
inconsistent  with  consciousness  of  sin,  which  is,  in  fact, 
often  associated  with  them  in  other  psalms  (xxv.  20, 
21,  and  vii.  11,  18).  They  do  indicate  a  lower 

stage  of  religious  development,  a  less  keen  sense  of 
sinfulness  and  of  sins,  a  less  clea,r  recognition  of  the 
worthlessness  before  God  of  all  man’s  goodness,  than 
belong  to  Christian  feeling.  The  same  language  when 
spoken  at  one  stage  of  revelation  may  be  childlike  and 
lowly,  and  be  swelling  arrogance  and  self-righteous 
self-ignorance,  if  spoken  at  another. 

Such  high  and  sweet  communion  cannot  but  breed 
profound  distaste  for  the  society  of  evil-doers.  The 
eyes  which  have  God’s  loving-kindness  ever  before 
them  are  endowed  with  penetrative  clearness  of  vision 
into  the  true  hollowness  of  most  of  the  objects  pursued 
by  men,  and  with  a  terrible  sagacity  which  detects 
hypocrisy  and  shams.  Association  with  such  men  is 
necessary,  else  we  must  needs  go  out  of  the  world,  and 
leaven  must  be  in  contact  with  dough  in  order  to  do 
its  transforming  work ;  but  it  is  impossible  for  a  man 
whose  heart  is  truly  in  touch  with  God  not  to  feel  ill 
at  ease  when  brought  into  contact  with  those  who  have 
no  share  in  his  deepest  convictions  and  emotions. 
**  Men  of  vanity  ”  is  a  general  designation  for  the 
ungodly,  pronouncing  on  every  such  life  the  sentence 
that  it  is  devoted  to  empty  unrealities  and  partakes  of 
the  nature  of  that  to  which  it  is  given  up.  .  One  who 
has  Jehovah’s  loving-kindness  before  his  eyes  cannot 
“  sit  ”  with  such  men  in  friendly  association,  as  if 


254 


THE  PSALMS. 


sharing  their  ways  of  thinking,  nor  “go”  with  them 
in  their  course  of  conduct.  “Those  who  mask  them¬ 
selves  ”  are  another  class,  namely  hypocrites  who 
conceal  their  pursuit  of  vanity  under  the  show  of 
religion.  The  psalmist’s  revulsion  is  intensified  in  ver. 
5  into  “Tate,”  because  the  evil-doers  and  sinners 
spoken  of  there  are  of  a  deeper  tint  of  blackness,  and 
are  banded  together  in  a  “  congregation,”  the  opposite 
and  parody  of  the  assemblies  of  the  righteous,  whom 
he  feels  to  be  his  kindred.  No  doubt  separateness 
from  evil-doers  is  but  part  of  a  godly  man’s  duty,  and 
has  often  been  exaggerated  into  selfish  withdrawal 
from  a  world  which  needs  good  men’s  presence  all  the 
more  the  worse  it  is ;  but  it  is  a  part  of  his  duty,  and 
“  Come  out  from  among  them  and  be  separate  ”  is  not 
yet  an  abrogated  command.  No  man  will  ever  mingle 
with  “  men  of  vanity,”  so  as  to  draw  them  from  the 
shadows  of  earth  to  the  substance  in  God,  unless  his 
loving  association  with  them  rests  on  profound  revulsion 
from  their  principles  of  action.  None  comes  so  near 
to  sinful  men  as  the  sinless  Christ ;  and  if  He  had  not 
been  ever  “  separate  from  sinners,”  He  would  never 
have  been  near  enough  to  redeem  them.  We  may 
safely  imitate  His  free  companionship,  which  earned 
Him  His  glorious  name  of  their  Friend,  if  we  imitate 
His  remoteness  from  their  evil. 

From  the  uncongenial  companionship  of  the  wicked 
the  psalmist’s  yearnings  instinctively  turn  to  his  heart’s 
home,  the  sanctuary.  The  more  a  man  feels  out  of 
sympathy  with  a  godless  world,  the  more  longingly  he 
presses  into  the  depths  of  communion  with  God ;  and, 
conversely,  the  more  he  feels  at  home  in  still  communion, 
the  more  does  the  tumult  of  sense-bound  crowds  grate 
on  his  soul.  The  psalmist,  then,  in  the  next  group  of 


THE  PSALMS. 


255 


XXVI.] 

verses  (6,  7),  opposes  access  to  the  house  of  God  and 
the  solemn  joy  of  thankful  praises  sounding  there  to 
the  loathed  consorting  with  evil.  He  will  not  sit  with 
men  of  vanity  because  he  will  enter  the  sanctuary. 
Outward  participation  in  its  worship  may  be  included 
in  his  vows  and  wishes,  but  the  tone  of  the  verses 
rather  points  to  a  symbolical  use  of  the  externalities  of 
ritual.  Cleansing  the  hands  alludes  to  priestly  lustra¬ 
tion  ;  compassing  the  altar  is  not  known  to  have  been 
a  Jewish  practice,  and  probably  is  to  be  taken  as 
simply  a  picturesque  way  of  describing  himself  as  one 
of  the  joyous  circle  of  worshippers ;  the  sacrifice  is 
praise.  The  psalmist  rises  to  the  height  of  the  true 
Israelite’s  priestly  vocation,  and  ritual  has  become  trans¬ 
parent  to  him.  None  the  less  may  he  have  clung  to 
the  outwardnesses  of  ceremonial  worship,  because  he 
apprehended  them  in  their  highest  significance  and  had 
learned  that  the  qualification  of  the  worshipper  was 
purity,  and  the  best  offering  praise.  Well  for  those 
who,  like  him,  are  driven  to  the  sanctuary  by  the 
revulsion  from  vanities  and  from  those  who  pursue 
them  ! 

Ver.  8  is  closely  connected  with  the  two  preceding,  but 
is  perhaps  best  united  with  the  following  verse,  as  being 
the  ground  of  the  prayer  there.  Hate  of  the  congrega¬ 
tion  of  evil-doers  has  love  to  God’s  house  for  its  com¬ 
plement  or  foundation.  The  measure  of  attachment  is 
that  of  detachment.  The  designations  of  the  sanctuary 
in  ver.  8  show  the  aspects  in  which  it  drew  the  psalmist’s 
love.  It  was  “the  shelter  of  Thy  house,”  where  he 
could  hide  himself  from  the  strife  of  tongues  and  escape 
the  pain  of  herding  with  evil-doers ;  it  was  “  the  place 
of  the  dwelling  of  Thy  glory,”  the  abode  of  that  symbol 
of  Divine  presence  which  flamed  between  the  cherubim 


256 


THE  PSALMS. 


and  lit  the  darkness  of  the  innermost  shrine.  Because 
the  singer  felt  his  true  home  to  be  there,  he  prayed  that 
his  soul  might  not  be  gathered  with  sinners,  i.e.  that 
he  might  not  be  involved  in  their  fate.  He  has  had  no 
fellowship  with  them  in  their  evil,  and  therefore  he  asks 
that  he  may  be  separate  from  them  in  their  punishment. 
To  “ gather  the  soul”  is  equivalent  to  taking  away  the 
life.  God’s  judgments  sort  out  characters  and  bring 
like  to  like,  as  the  tares  are  bound  in  bundles  or  as, 
with  so  different  a  purpose,  Christ  made  the  multitudes 
sit  down  by  companies  on  the  green  sward.  General 
judgments  are  not  indiscriminate.  The  prayer  of  the 
psalmist  may  not  have  looked  beyond  exemption  from 
calamities  or  from  death,  but  the  essence  of  the  faith 
which  it  expresses  is  eternally  true  :  that  distinction  of 
attitude  towards  God  and  goodness  must  secure  distinc¬ 
tion  of  lot,  even  though  external  circumstances  are 
identical.  The  same  things  are  not  the  same  to  men  so 
profoundly  different.  The  picture  of  the  evil-doers  from 
whom  the  psalmist  recoils  is  darker  in  these  last  verses 
than  before.  It  is  evidently  a  portrait  and  points  to  a 
state  of  society  in  which  violence,  outrage,  and  corrup¬ 
tion  were  rampant.  The  psalmist  washed  his  hands  in 
innocency,  but  these  men  had  violence  and  bribes  in 
theirs.  They  were  therefore  persons  in  authority, 
prostituting  justice.  The  description  fits  too  many 
periods  too  well  to  give  a  clue  to  the  date  of  the  psalm. 

Once  more  the  consciousness  of  difference  and  the 
resolve  not  to  be  like  such  men  break  forth  in  the 
closing  couple  of  verses.  The  psalm  began  with 
the  profession  that  he  had  walked  in  his  integrity ;  it 
ends  with  the  vow  that  he  will.  It  had  begun  with 
the  prayer  “Judge  me”;  it  ends  with  the  expansion  of 
it  into  “  Redeem  me  ” — i.e.t  from  existing  dangers,  from 


xxvi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


257 


evil-doers,  or  from  their  fate — and  “Be  gracious  unto  me,” 
the  positive  side  of  the  same  petition.  He  who  purposes 
to  walk  uprightly  has  the  right  to  expect  God’s  delivering 
and  giving  hand  to  be  extended. to  him.  The  resolve  to 
walk  uprightly  unaccompanied  with  the  prayer  for  that 
hand  to  hold  up  is  as  rash  as  the  prayer  without  the 
resolve  is  vain.  But  if  these  two  go  together,  quiet 
confidence  will  steal  into  the  heart ;  and  though  there 
be  no  change  in  circumstances,  the  mood  of  mind  will 
be  so  soothed  and  lightened  that  the  suppliant  will  feel 
that  he  has  suddenly  emerged  from  the  steep  gorge 
where  he  had  been  struggling  and  shut  up,  and  stands  on 
the  level  ground  of  the  “  shining  table-lands,  whereof 
our  God  Himself  is  sun  and  moon.”  Such  peaceful 
foretaste  of  coming  security  is  the  forerunner  which 
visits  the  faithful  heart.  Gladdened  by  it,  the  psalmist 
is  sure  that  his  desire  of  compassing  God’s  altar  with 
praise  will  be  fulfilled,  and  that,  instead  of  compulsory 
association  with  the  “  congregation  of  evil-doers,”  he 
will  bless  Jehovah  “in  the  congregations  ”  where  His 
name  is  loved  and  find  himself  among  those  who,  like 
himself,  delight  in  His  praise. 


T 


PSALM  XXVII. 


1  Jehovah  is  my  light  and  my  salvation  ;  whom  should  I  fear? 
Jehovah  is  the  fortress  of  my  life  ;  for  whom  should  I  tremble  ? 

2  When  evil-doers  drew  near  against  me,  to  devour  my  flesh, 

My  oppressors  and  my  foes,  they  stumbled  and  fell. 

3  Though  a  host  encamp  against  me, 

My  heart  fears  not; 

Though  war  rises  against  me, 

Even  then  am  I  confident. 

4  One  thing  have  I  asked  from  Jehovah  ;  that  will  I  seek : 

That  I  may  dwell  in  the  house  of  Jehovah  all  the  days  of  my  life, 
To  gaze  upon  the  pleasantness  of  Jehovah  and  to  meditate  in  His 
palace. 

5  For  He  will  hide  me  in  a  bower  in  the  day  of  evil; 

He  will  secrete  me  in  the  secret  of  His  tent ; 

On  a  rock  will  He  lift  me. 

6  And  now  shall  my  head  be  lifted  above  my  foes  around  me, 

And  I  will  sacrifice  in  His  tent  sacrifices  of  joy ; 

I  will  sing  and  I  will  harp  to  Jehovah. 

7  Hear,  Jehovah,  when  I  cry  with  my  voice; 

And  be  gracious  to  me,  and  answer  me. 

8  To  Thee  hath  my  heart  said,  (when  Thou  saidst)  “  Seek  ye  my 

face  ” ; 

That  face  of  Thine,  Jehovah,  will  I  seek. 

9  Hide  not  Thy  face  from  me  : 

Repulse  not  Thy  servant  in  anger; 

My  help  Thou  hast  been  : 

Cast  me  not  off,  and  forsake  me  not,  O  God  of  my  salvation 

10  for  my  father  and  my  mother  have  forsaken  me; 

But  Jehovah  will  take  me  up. 

11  Show  me,  Jehovah,  Thy  way, 

And  lead  me  in  a  level  path,  because  of  those  who  lie  in  wait  for  me. 


xxvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


259 


12  Give  me  not  up  to  the  desire  of  my  oppressors, 

For  false  witnesses  have  risen  against  me,  and  such  as  breathe  out 


violence. 


13  If  I  had  not  believed  that  I  should  see  the  goodness  of  Jehovah 

In  the  land  of  the  living - ! 

14  Wait  on  Jehovah  ; 

Be  strong,  and  let  thine  heart  take  courage,  and  wait  on  Jehovah. 

HE  hypothesis  that  two  originally  distinct  psalms 


X  or  fragments  are  here  blended  has  much  in  its 
favour.  The  rhythm  and  style  of  the  latter  half 
(ver.  7  to  end)  are  strikingly  unlike  those  of  the  former 
part,  and  the  contrast  of  feeling  is  equally  marked,  and 
is  in  the  opposite  direction  from  that  which  is  usual, 
since  it  drops  from  exultant  faith  to  at  least  plaintive, 
if  not  anxious,  petition.  But  while  the  phenomena  are 
plain  and  remarkable,  they  do  not  seem  to  demand  the 
separation  suggested.  Form  and  rhythm  are  elastic  in 
the  poet's  hands,  and  change  in  correspondence  with 
his  change  of  mood.  The  flowing  melody  of  the  earlier 
part  is  the  natural  expression  of  its  sunny  confidence, 
and  the  harsher  strains  of  the  later  verses  fit  no  less 
well  their  contents.  Why  may  not  the  key  change  to 
a  minor,  and  yet  the  voice  be  the  same  ?  The  fall 
from  jubilant  to  suppliant  faith  is  not  unexampled  in 
other  psalms  (cf.  ix.  and  xxv.),  nor  in  itself  unnatural. 
Dangers,  which  for  a  moment  cease  to  press,  do  recur, 
however  real  the  victory  over  fear  has  been,  and  in 
this  recrudescence  of  the  consciousness  of  peril,  which 
yet  does  not  loosen,  but  tighten,  the  grasp  of  faith,  this 
ancient  singer  speaks  the  universal  experience  ;  and  his 
song  becomes  more  precious  and  more  fitted  for  all 
lips  than  if  it  had  been  unmingled  triumph.  One  can 
better  understand  the  original  author  passing  in  swift 
transition  from  the  one  to  the  other  tone,  than  a  later 
editor  deliberately  appending  to  a  pure  burst  of  joyous 


26o 


THE  PSALMS. 


faith  and  aspiration  a  tag  which  flattened  it.  The 
more  unlike  the  two  halves  are,  the  less  probable  is  it 
that  their  union  is  owing  to  any  but  the  author  of  both. 
The  fire  of  the  original  inspiration  could  fuse  them 
into  homogeneousness  ;  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  a 
mechanical  patcher  should  have  done  so.  If,  then,  we 
take  the  psalm  as  a  whole,  it  gives  a  picture  of  the 
transitions  of  a  trustful  soul  surrounded  by  dangers,  in 
which  all  such  souls  may  recognise  their  own  likeness. 

The  first  half  (vv.  1-6)  is  the  exultant  song  of  soaring 
faith.  But  even  in  it  there  sounds  an  undertone.  The 
very  refusal  to  be  afraid  glances  sideways  at  outstand¬ 
ing  causes  for  fear.  The  very  names  of  Jehovah  as 
“  Light,  Salvation,”  “  the  Stronghold  of  my  life,”  imply 
darkness,  danger,  and  besetting  foes.  The  resolve  to 
keep  alight  the  fire  of  courage  and  confidence  in  the 
face  of  encamping  foes  and  rising  wars  is  much  too 
energetic  to  be  mere  hypothetical  courage.  The  hopes 
of  safety  in  Jehovah’s  tent,  of  a  firm  standing  on  a 
rock,  and  of  the  head  being  lifted  above  surrounding 
foes  are  not  the  hopes  of  a  man  at  ease,  but  of  one 
threatened  on  all  sides,  and  triumphant  only  because 
he  clasps  Jehovah’s  hand.  The  first  words  of  the 
psalm  carry  it  all  in  germ.  By  a  noble  dead-lift  of 
confidence,  the  singer  turns  from  foes  and  fears  to  stay 
himself  on  Jehovah,  his  light  and  salvation,  and  then, 
in  the  strength  of  that  assurance,  bids  back  his  rising 
fears  to  their  dens.  “  I  will  trust,  and  not  be  afraid,” 
confesses  the  presence  of  fear,  and,  like  our  psalm, 
unveils  the  only  reasonable  counteraction  of  it  in  the 
contemplation  of  what  God  is.  There  is  much  to  fear 
unless  He  is  our  light,  and  they  who  will  not  begin 
with  the  psalmist’s  confidence  have  no  right  to  repeat 
his  courage. 


xxvii.J 


THE  PSALMS. 


261 


To  a  devout  man  the  past  is  eloquent  with  reasons 
for  confidence,  and  in  ver.  2  the  psalm  points  to  a 
past  fact.  The  stumbling  and  falling  of  former  foes, 
who  came  open-mouthed  at  him,  is  not  a  hypothetical 
case,  but  a  bit  of  autobiography,  which  lives  to  nourish 
present  confidence.  It  is  worth  notice  that  the  lan¬ 
guage  employed  has  remarkable  correspondence  with 
that  used  in  the  story  of  David’s  fight  with  Goliath. 
There  the  same  word  as  here  is  twice  employed  to 
describe  the  Philistine’s  advance  (1  Sam.  xvii.  41,  48). 
Goliath’s  vaunt,  u  I  will  give  thy  flesh  to  the  fowls  of 
the  air  and  to  the  beasts  of  the  field,”  may  have  sup¬ 
plied  the  mould  for  the  expression  here,  and  the  fall 
of  the  giant,  with  his  face  to  the  earth  and  the  smooth 
stone  in  his  brain,  is  narrated  with  the  same  word 
as  occurs  in  the  psalm.  It  might  well  be  that  when 
David  was  a  fugitive  before  Saul  the  remembrance  of 
his  victory  over  Goliath  should  have  cheered  him,  just 
as  that  of  his  earlier  prowess  against  bear  and  lion 
heartened  him  to  face  the  Philistine  bully  ;  and  such 
recollections  would  be  all  the  more  natural  since 
jealousy  of  the  fame  that  came  to  him  from  that  feat 
had  set  the  first  light  to  Saul’s  hatred.  Ver.  3  is  not 
to  be  left  swinging  in  vacuo ,  a  cheap  vow  of  courage 
in  hypothetical  danger.  The  supposed  case  is  actual 
fact,  and  the  expressions  of  trust  are  not  only  assertions 
for  the  future,  but  statements  of  the  present  temper  of 
the  psalmist :  “I  do  not  fear  ;  I  am  confident.” 

The  confidence  of  ver.  3  is  rested  not  only  on  Jehovah’s 
past  acts,  but  on  the  psalmist’s  past  and  present  set 
of  soul  towards  Him.  That  seems  to  be  the  connecting 
link  between  vv.  1-3  and  4-6.  Such  desire,  the 
psalmist  is  sure,  cannot  but  be  answered,  and  in  the 
answer  all  safety  is  included.  The  purest  longing 


262 


THE  PSALMS. 


after  God,  as  the  deepest,  most  fixed  yearning  of  a 
heart,  was  never  more  nobly  expressed.  Clearly  the 
terms  forbid  the  limitation  of  meaning  to  mere  external 
presence  in  a  material  sanctuary.  “  All  the  days  of 
my  life  ”  points  to  a  continuance  inward  and  capable 
of  accomplishment,  wherever  the  body  may  be.  The 
exclusiveness  and  continuity  of  the  longing,  as  well  as 
the  gaze  on  God  which  is  its  true  object,  are  incapable 
of  the  lower  meaning,  while,  no  doubt,  the  externals 
of  worship  supply  the  mould  into  which  these  longings 
are  poured.  But  what  the  psalmist  wants  is  what  the 
devout  soul  in  all  ages  and  stages  has  wanted  :  the 
abiding  consciousness  of  the  Divine  presence ;  and  the 
prime  good  which  makes  that  presence  so  infinitely 
and  exclusively  desirable  to  him  is  the  good  which 
draws  all  such  souls  in  yearning,  namely  the  vision 
of  God.  The  lifelong  persistence  and  exclusiveness 
of  the  desire  are  such  as  all  must  cherish  if  they 
are  to  receive  its  fruition.  Blessed  are  they  who  are 
delivered  from  the  misery  of  multiplied  and  transient 
aims  which  break  life  into  fragments  by  steadfastly 
and  continually  following  one  great  desire,  which  binds 
all  the  days  each  to  each,  and  in  its  single  simplicity 
encloses  and  hallows  and  unifies  the  else  distracting' 
manifoldness !  That  life  is  filled  with  light,  however 
it  may  be  ringed  round  with  darkness,  which  has  the 
perpetual  vision  of  God,  who  is  its  light.  Very  beauti¬ 
fully  does  the  psalm  describe  the  occupation  of  God’s 
guest  as  “  gazing  upon  the  pleasantness  of  Jehovah.’ 
In  that  expression  the  construction  of  the  verb  with 
a  preposition  implies  a  steadfast  and  penetrating 
contemplation,  and  the  word  rendered  “  beauty  ”  or 
“  pleasantness  ”  may  mean  “  friendliness,”  but  is 
perhaps  better  taken  in  a  more  general  meaning,  as 


xxvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


263 


equivalent  to  the  whole  gathered  delightsomeness  of 
the  Divine  character,  the  supremely  fair  and  sweet. 
“To  inquire  ”  may  be  rendered  “  to  consider  ” ;  but  the 
rendering  “  meditate  [or  contemplate]  in  ”  is  better, 
as  the  palace  would  scarcely  be  a  worthy  object  of 
consideration ;  and  it  is  natural  that  the  gaze  on  the 
goodness  of  Jehovah  should  be  followed  by  loving 
meditation  on  what  that  earnest  look  had  seen.  The 
two  acts  complete  the  joyful  employment  of  a  soul  com¬ 
muning  with  God :  first  perceiving  and  then  reflecting 
upon  His  uncreated  beauty  of  goodness. 

Such  intimacy  of  communion  brings  security  from 
external  dangers.  The  guest  has  a  claim  for  protection. 
And  that  is  a  subsidiary  reason  for  the  psalmist’s  desire 
as  well  as  a  ground  of  his  confidence.  Therefore  the 
assurance  of  ver.  5  follows  the  longing  of  ver.  4.  “A 
pavilion,”  as  the  Hebrew  text  reads,  has  been  needlessly 
corrected  in  the  margin  into  “  His  pavilion  ”  (A.  V.). 
“  It  is  not  God’s  dwelling,  as  the  following  ‘  tent  ’  is, 
but  a  booth  ...  as  an  image  of  protection  from  heat 
and  inclemency  of  weather  (Isa.  iv.  6)  ”  (Hupfeld). 
God’s  dwelling  is  a  “  tent,”  where  He  will  shelter  His 
guests.  The  privilege  of  asylum  is  theirs.  Then,  with 
a  swift  change  of  figure,  the  psalmist  expresses  the 
same  idea  of  security  by  elevation  on  a  rock,  possibly 
conceiving  the  tent  as  pitched  there.  The  reality  of 
all  is  that  communion  with  God  secures  from  perils 
and  enemies,  an  eternal  truth,  if  the  true  meaning  of 
security  is  grasped.  Borne  up  by  such  thoughts,  the 
singer  feels  himself  lifted  clear  above  the  reach  of 
surrounding  foes,  and,  with  the  triumphant  “  now  ”  of 
ver.  6,  stretches  out  his  hand  to  bring  future  deliver¬ 
ance  into  the  midst  of  present  distress.  Faith  can 
blend  the  seasons,  and  transport  June  and  its  roses 


264 


THE  PSALMS. 


into  December’s  snows.  Deliverance  suggests  thank¬ 
fulness  to  a  true  heart,  and  its  anticipation  calls  out 
prophetic  “  songs  in  the  night.” 

But  the  very  brightness  of  the  prospect  recalls  the 
stern  reality  of  present  need,  and  the  firmest  faith  cannot 
keep  on  the  wing  continually.  In  the  first  part  of  the 
psalm  it  sings  and  soars  ;  in  the  second  the  note  is  less 
jubilant,  and  it  sings  and  sinks  ;  but  in  both  it  is  faith. 
Prayer  for  deliverance  is  as  really  the  voice  of  faith  as 
triumph  in  the  assurance  of  deliverance  is,  and  he  who 
sees  his  foes  and  yet  “  believes  to  see  the  goodness  of 
Jehovah  ”  is  not  far  below  him  who  gazes  only  on  the 
beauty  of  the  Lord.  There  is  a  parallelism  between  the 
two  halves  of  the  psalm  worth  noting.  In  the  former 
part  the  psalmist’s  confidence  reposed  on  the  two  facts 
of  past  deliverance  and  of  his  past  and  continuous 
“  seeking  after  ”  the  one  good ;  in  the  second  his 
prayers  repose  on  the  same  two  grounds,  which  occur  in 
inverted  order.  “That  will  I  seek  after”  (ver.  4),  is 
echoed  by  “  Thy  face  will  I  seek  ”  (ver.  8).  To  seek  the 
face  is  the  same  substantially  as  to  desire  to  “  gaze  on 
the  pleasantness  of  Jehovah.”  The  past  experience  of 
the  fall  of  foes  (ver.  2)  is  repeated  in  “  Thou  hast  been 
my  help.”  On  these  two  pleas  the  prayer  in  which 
faith  speaks  itself  founds.  The  former  is  urged  in  vv. 
8  and  9  with  some  harshness  of  construction,  which  is 
smoothed  over,  rightly  as  regards  meaning,  in  the  A.V. 
and  R.  V.  But  the  very  brokenness  of  the  sentence  adds 
to  the  earnestness  of  the  prayer  :  “  To  Thee  my  heart  has 
said,  Seek  ye  my  face ;  Thy  face,  Jehovah,  will  I  seek.” 
The  answering  heart  repeats  the  invitation  which  gave 
it  courage  to  seek  before  it  responds  with  its  resolve. 
The  insertion  of  some  such  phrase  as  “in  answer  to 
Thy  word  ”  before  “  seek  ye  ”  helps  the  sense  in  a 


xxvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


265 


translation,  but  mars  the  vigour  of  the  original.  The 
invitation  is  not  quoted  from  any  Scripture,  but  is  the 
summary  of  the  meaning  of  all  God’s  self-revelation. 
He  is  ever  saying,  “  Seek  ye  my  face.”  Therefore  He 
cannot  but  show  it  to  a  man  who  takes  Him  at  His 
word  and  pleads  that  word  as  the  warrant  for  his 
petition.  “I  have  never  said  to  the  seed  of  Jacob, 
Seek  ye  my  face  in  vain.”  The  consistency  of  the 
Divine  character  ensures  His  satisfying  the  desires 
which  He  has  implanted.  He  will  neither  stultify 
Himself  nor  tantalise  men  by  setting  them  on  quests 
which  end  in  disappointment.  In  a  similar  manner, 
the  psalm  urges  the  familiar  argument  from  God’s  past, 
which  reposes  on  the  confidence  of  unalterable  grace 
and  inexhaustible  resources.  The  psalmist  had  no  cold 
abstract  doctrine  of  immutability  as  a  Divine  attribute. 
His  conception  was  intensely  practical.  Since  God 
has  helped  in  the  past,  He  will  help  in  the  future, 
because  He  is  God,  and  because  He  is  “  the  God  of 
my  salvation.”  He  cannot  reverse  His  action  nor  stay 
His  hand  until  His  dealings  with  His  servants  have 
vindicated  that  name  by  completing  the  process  to 
which  it  binds  Him. 

The  prayer  “Forsake  me  not”  is  based  upon  a 
remarkable  ground  in  ver.  10  :  “For  my  father  and  my 
mother  have  forsaken  me.”  That  seems  a  singular 
plea  for  a  mature  man,  who  has  a  considerably  varied 
experience  of  life  behind  him,  to  urge.  It  is  generally 
explained  as  a  proverbial  expression,  meaning  no  more 
than  the  frequent  complaints  in  the  Psalter  of  desertion 
by  friends  and  lovers.  Cheyne  (Commentary  in  loc.)  sees 
in  it  a  clear  indication  that  the  speaker  is  the  afflicted 
nation,  comparing  itself  to  a  sobbing  child  deserted  by  its 
parents.  But  it  is  at  least  noteworthy  that,  when  David 


266 


THE  PSALMS. 


was  hard  pressed  at  Adullam,  he  bestowed  his  father 
and  mother  for  safety  with  the  king  of  Moab  (i  Sam. 
xxi.  3,  4).  It  is  objected  that  this  was  not  their  “  for¬ 
saking  ”  him,  but  it  was,  at  least,  their  “  leaving  ”  him, 
and  might  well  add  an  imaginative  pang  as  well  as  a 
real  loss  to  tne  fugitive.  So  specific  a  statement  as  that 
of  the  psalm  can  scarcely  be  weakened  down  into 
proverb  or  metaphor.  The  allusion  may  be  undis- 
coverable,  but  the  words  sound  uncommonly  like  the 
assertion  of  a  fact,  and  the  fact  referred  to  is  the  only 
known  one  which  in  any  degree  fits  them. 

The  general  petitions  of  vv.  7-10  become  more  specific 
as  the  song  nears  its  close.  As  in  Psalm  xxv.,  guidance 
and  protection  are  the  psalmist’s  needs  now.  The 
analogy  of  other  psalms  suggests  an  ethical  meaning 
for  “  the  plain  path  ”  of  ver.  1 1  ;  and  that  signification, 
rather  than  that  of  a  safe  road,  is  to  be  preferred,  for 
the  sake  of  preserving  a  difference  between  this  and 
the  following  prayer  for  deliverance.  The  figures  of 
his  enemies  stand  out  more  threateningly  than  before 
(ver.  12).  Is  that  all  his  gain  from  his  prayer?  Is  it 
not  a  faint-hearted  descent  from  ver.  6,  where,  from  the 
height  of  his  Divine  security,  he  looked  down  on  them 
far  below,  and  unable  to  reach  him  ?  Now  thev  have 
“risen  up,”  and  he  has  dropped  down  among  them. 
But  such  changes  of  mood  are  not  inconsistent  with 
unchanged  faith,  if  only  the  gaze  which  discerns  the 
precipice  at  either  side  is  not  turned  away  from  the 
goal  ahead  and  above,  nor  from  Him  who  holds  up  His 
servant.  The  effect  of  that  clearer  sight  of  the  enemies 
is  very  beautifully  given  in  the  abrupt  half-sentence  01 
ver.  13  :  “If  I  had  not  believed  to  see  the  goodness 
of  Jehovah  in  the  land  of  the  living  1  ”  As  he  thinks  of 
his  foes,  he  breaks  into  an  exclamation,  which  he  leaves 


xxvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


267 


unfinished.  The  omission  is  easy  to  supply.  He 
would  have  been  their  victim  but  for  his  faith.  The 
broken  words  tell  of  his  recoil  from  the  terrible  possi¬ 
bility  forced  on  him  by  the  sight  of  the  formidable 
enemies.  Well  for  us  if  we  are  but  driven  the  closer 
to  God,  in  conscious  helplessness,  by  the  sight  of 
dangers  and  antagonisms  1  Faith  does  not  falter, 
though  it  is  keenly  conscious  of  difficulties.  It  is  not 
preserved  by  ignoring  facts,  but  should  be  by  them 
impelled  to  clasp  God  more  firmly  as  its  only  safety. 

So  the  psalm  goes  back  to  the  major  key  at  last,  and 
in  the  closing  verse  prayer  passes  into  self-encourage¬ 
ment.  The  heart  that  spoke  to  God  now  speaks  to 
itself.  Faith  exhorts  sense  and  soul  to  “wait  on 
Jehovah.”  The  self-communing  of  the  psalmist,  begin¬ 
ning  with  exultant  confidence  and  merging  into  prayer 
thrilled  with  consciousness  of  need  and  of  weakness, 
closes  with  bracing  him  up  to  courage,  which  is  not  pre¬ 
sumption,  because  it  is  the  fruit  of  waiting  on  the  Lord. 
He  who  thus  keeps  his  heart  in  touch  with  God  will  be 
able  to  obey  the  ancient  command,  which  had  rung  so 
long  before  in  the  ears  of  Joshua  in  the  plains  of 
Jericho  and  is  never  out  of  date,  “  Be  strong  and  of  a 
good  courage  ” ;  and  none  but  those  w  ho  wait  on  the 
Lord  will  be  at  once  conscious  of  weakness  and  filled 
with  strength,  aware  of  the  foes  and  bold  to  meet  them. 


/  • 

PSALM  XXVIII. 

1  Unto  Thee,  Jehovah,  I  cry; 

My  Rock,  be  not  deaf  to  me, 

Lest  Thou  be  silent  to  me, 

And  I  become  as  those  who  go  down  to  the  pit. 

2  Hear  the  voice  of  my  supplications  in  my  crying  to  Thee  for  help, 
In  my  lifting  my  hands  to  Thy  holy  shrine. 

3  Drag  me  not  away  with  wicked  men,  and  with  workers  of  iniquity, 
Speaking  peace  with  their  neighbours, 

And  evil  is  in  their  hearts. 

4  Give  them  according  to  their  doings  and  according  to  the  evil  of 

their  deeds ; 

According  to  the  work  of  their  hands  give  them  ; 

Return  their  desert  to  them. 

5  For  they  pay  no  heed  to  the  doings  of  Jehovah 
Nor  to  the  work  of  His  hands ; 

He  shall  cast  them  down,  and  not  build  them  up, 

6  Blessed  be  Jehovah, 

For  He  has  heard  the  voice  of  my  supplications. 

7  Jehovah  is  my  fortress  and  my  shield ; 

In  Him  has  my  heart  trusted,  and  I  am  helped ; 

So  my  heart  leaps  [for  joy],  and  by  my  song  will  I  praise  Him. 

8  Jehovah  is  their  strength  (or  the  strength  of  Flis  people), 

And  a  fortress  of  salvation  for  His  anointed  is  He. 

9  Save  Thy  people,  and  bless  Thine  inheritance, 

And  shepherd  them,  and  carry  them  even  for  evermore. 

THE  unquestionable  resemblances  to  Psalm  xxvi. 

scarcely  require  that  this  should  be  considered 
its  companion.  The  differences  are  as  obvious  as  the 
likenesses.  While  the  prayer  u  Draw  me  not  away 
with  the  wicked  ”  and  the  characterisation  of  these 

268 


xxviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


269 


are  alike  in  both,  the  further  emphatic  prayer  for  re¬ 
tribution  here  and  the  closing  half  of  this  psalm  have 
nothing  corresponding  to  them  in  the  other.  This  psalm 
is  built  on  the  familiar  plan  of  groups  of  two  verses  each, 
with  the  exception  that  the  prayer,  which  is  its  centre, 
runs  over  into  three.  The  course  of  thought  is  as 
familiar  as  the  structure.  Invocation  is  followed  by 
petition,  and  that  by  exultant  anticipation  of  the  answer 
as  already  given ;  and  all  closes  with  wider  petitions  for 
the  whole  people. 

Vv.  I,  2,  are  a  prelude  to  the  prayer  proper,  be¬ 
speaking  the  Divine  acceptance  of  it,  on  the  double 
ground  of  the  psalmist’s  helplessness  apart  from  God’s 
help  and  of  his  outstretched  hands  appealing  to  God 
enthroned  above  the  mercy-seat.  He  is  in  such  straits 
that,  unless  his  prayer  brings  an  answer  in  act,  he  must 
sink  into  the  pit  of  Sheol,  and  be  made  like  those  that 
lie  huddled  there  in  its  darkness.  On  the  edge  of  the 
slippery  slope,  he  stretches  out  his  hands  toward  the 
innermost  sanctuary  (for  so  the  word  rendered,  by  a 
mistaken  etymology,  “  oracle  ”  means).  He  beseeches 
God  to  hear,  and  blends  the  two  figures  of  deafness 
and  silence  as  both  meaning  the  withholding  of  help. 
Jehovah  seems  deaf  when  prayer  is  unanswered,  and 
is  silent  when  He  does  not  speak  in  deliverance.  This 
prelude  of  invocation  throbs  with  earnestness,  and  sets 
the  pattern  for  suppliants,  teaching  them  how  to  quicken 
their  own  desires  as  well  as  how  to  appeal  to  God  by 
breathing  to  Him  their  consciousness  that  only  His 
hand  can  keep  them  from  sliding  down  into  death. 

The  prayer  itself  (vv.  3-5)  touches  lightly  on  the 
petition  that  the  psalmist  may  be  delivered  from  the 
fate  of  the  wicked,  and  then  launches  out  into  indignant 
description  of  their  practices  and  solemn  invocation  of 


270 


THE  PSALMS . 


retribution  upon  them.  “  Drag  away  ”  is  parallel  with, 
but  stronger  than,  u  Gather  not  ”  in  xxvi.  9.  Com¬ 
mentators  quote  Job  xxiv.  22,  where  the  word  is  used 
of  God's  dragging  the  mighty  out  of  life  by  His  power, 
as  a  struggling  criminal  is  haled  to  the  scaffold. 
The  shuddering  recoil  from  the  fate  of  the  wicked  is 
accompanied  with  vehement  loathing  of  their  practices. 
A  man  who  keeps  his  heart  in  touch  with  God  cannot 
but  shrink,  as  from  a  pestilence,  from  complicity  with 
evil,  and  the  depth  of  his  hearty  hatred  of  it  is  the 
measure  of  his  right  to  ask  that  he  may  not  share  in 
the  ruin  it  must  bring,  since  God  is  righteous.  One 
type  of  evil-doers  is  the  object  of  the  psalmist’s  special 
abhorrence :  false  friends  with  smooth  tongues  and 
daggers  in  their  sleeves,  the  “  dissemblers  ”  of  Psalm 
xxvi.;  but  he  passes  to  the  more  general  characterisa¬ 
tion  of  the  class,  in  his  terrible  prayer  for  retribution, 
in  vv.  4,  5.  The  sin  of  sins,  from  which  all  specific 
acts  of  evil  flow,  is  blindness  to  God’s  “  deeds  ”  and  to 
“the  work  of  His  hands,”  His  acts  both  of  mercy  and 
of  judgment.  Practical  atheism,  the  indifference  which 
looks  upon  nature,  history,  and  self,  and  sees  no  signs 
of  a  mighty  hand  tender,  pure,  and  strong,  ever  active 
in  them  all,  will  surely  lead  the  purblind  “  Agnostics  ” 
to  do  “  works  of  their  hands  ”  which,  for  lack  of  reference 
to  Him,  fail  to  conform  to  the  highest  ideal  and  draw 
down  righteous  judgment.  But  the  blindness  to  God’s 
work  here  meant  is  that  of  an  averted  will  rather  than 
that  of  mistaken  understanding,  and  from  the  stem  of 
such  a  thorn  the  grapes  of  holy  living  cannot  be 
gathered.  Therefore  the  psalmist  is  but  putting  into 
words  the  necessary  result  of  such  lives  when  from 
suppliant  he  becomes  prophet,  and  declares  that  “  He 
shall  cast  them  down,  and  not  build  them  up.”  The 


xxviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


271 


stern  tone  of  this  prayer  marks  it  as  belonging  to 
the  older  type  of  religion,  and  its  dissimilarity  to  the 
New  Testament  teaching  is  not  to  be  slurred  over.  No 
doubt  the  element  of  personal  enmity  is  all  but  absent, 
but  it  is  not  the  prayer  which  those  who  have  heard 
“  Father,  forgive  them,"  are  to  copy.  Yet,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  wholesome  abhorrence  of  evil,  the  solemn 
certitude  that  sin  is  death,  the  desire  that  it  may  cease 
from  the  world,  and  the  lowly  petition  that  it  may  not 
drag  us  into  fatal  associations  are  all  to  be. preserved 
in  Christian  feeling,  while  softened  by  the  light  that 
falls  from  Calvary. 

As  in  many  psalms,  the  faith  which  prays  passes  at 
once  into  the  faith  which  possesses.  This  man,  when 
he  u  stood  praying,  believed  that  he  had  what  he 
asked,"  and,  so  believing,  had  it.  There  was  no  change 
in  circumstances,  but  he  was  changed.  There  is  no 
fear  of  going  down  into  the  pit  now,  and  the  rabble  of 
evil-doers  have  disappeared.  This  is  the  blessing  which 
every  true  suppliant  may  bear  away  from  the  throne, 
the  peace  which  passeth  understanding,  the  sure  pledge 
of  the  Divine  act  which  answers  prayer.  It  is  the  first 
gentle  ripple  of  the  incoming  tide ;  high  water  is  sure 
to  come  at  the  due  hour.  So  the  psalmist  is  exuberant 
and  happily  tautological  in  telling  how  his  trusting 
heart  has  become  a  leaping  heart,  and  help  has  been 
flashed  back  from  heaven  as  swiftly  as  his  prayer  had 
travelled  thither. 

The  closing  strophe  (vv.  8,  9)  is  but  loosely  con¬ 
nected  with  the  body  of  the  psalm  except  on  one  sup¬ 
position.  What  if  the  singer  were  king  over  Israel, 
and  if  the  dangers  threatening  him  were  public  perils  ? 
That  would  explain  the  else  singular  attachment  of 
intercession  for  Israel  to  so  intensely  personal  a  suppli- 


272 


THE  PSALMS. 


cation.  It  is  most  natural  that  God’s  “  anointed/’  who 
has  been  asking  deliverance  for  himself,  should  widen  his 
petitions  to  take  in  that  flock  of  which  he  was  but  the 
under-shepherd,  and  should  devolve  the  shepherding  and 
carrying  of  it  on  the  Divine  Shepherd-King,  of  whom 
he  was  the  shadowy  representative.  The  addition  of  one 
letter  changes  “  their  ”  in  ver.  8  into  “  to  His  people,” 
a  reading  which  has  the  support  of  the  LXX.  and  of 
some  manuscripts  and  versions  and  is  recommended  by 
its  congruity  with  the  context.  Cheyne’s  suggestion 
that  “  His  anointed  ”  is  the  high-priest  is  only  conjec¬ 
ture.  The  reference  of  the  expression  to  the  king  who 
is  also  the  psalmist  preserves  the  unity  of  the  psalm. 
The  Christian  reader  cannot  but  think  of  the  true  King 
and  Intercessor,  whose  great  prayer  before  His  passion 
began,  like  our  psalm,  with  petitions  for  Himself,  but 
passed  into  supplication  for  His  little  flock  and  for  all 
the  unnumbered  millions  “who  should  believe  on”  Him 
“through  their  word.” 


PSALM  XXIX 


1  Give  to  Jehovah,  ye  sons  of  God, 

Give  to  Jehovah  glory  and  strength. 

2  Give  to  Jehovah  the  glory  of  His  name; 

Bow  down  to  Jehovah  in  holy  attire. 

3  The  voice  of  Jehovah  is  upon  the  waters ; 

The  God  of  glory  thunders ; 

Jehovah  is  on  many  waters. 

4  The  voice  of  Jehovah  is  with  power  ; 

The  voice  of  Jehovah  is  with  majesty. 

5  The  voice  of  Jehovah  shivers  the  cedars; 

Yea,  Jehovah  shivers  the  cedars  of  Lebanon, 

6  And  makes  them  leap  like  a  calf, 

Lebanon  and  Sirion  like  a  young  wild  ox. 

7  The  voice  of  Jehovah  hews  out  flames  of  fire. 

8  The  voice  of  Jehovah  shakes  the  wilderness  ; 

Jehovah  shakes  the  wilderness  of  Kadesh. 

9  The  voice  of  Jehovah  makes  the  hinds  calve,  and  strips  the  woods  ; 
And  in  His  palace  every  one  is  saying,  Glory! 

10  Jehovah  sat  enthroned  for  the  Flood  ; 

And  Jehovah  sits  King  for  ever. 

1 1  Jehovah  will  give  strength  to  His  people; 

Jehovah  will  bless  His  people  with  peace. 

THE  core  of  this  psalm  is  the  magnificent  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  thunderstorm  rolling  over  the  whole 
length  of  the  land.  That  picture  is  framed  by  two 
verses  of  introduction  and  two  of  conclusion,  which 
are  connected,  inasmuch  as  the  one  deals  with  the 
“  glory  to  God  in  the  highest  ”  which  is  the  echo  of 
the  tempest  in  angels’  praises,  and  the  other  with  the 
“  peace  on  earth  ”  in  which  its  thunders  die  away. 

273  1 8 


274 


THE  PSALMS 


The  invocation  in  vv.  i,  2,  is  addressed  to  angels, 
whatever  may  be  the  exact  rendering  of  the  remarkable 
title  by  which  they  are  summoned  in  ver.  I.  It  is  all 
but  unique,  and  the  only  other  instance  of  its  use 
(Psalm  lxxxix.  6)  establishes  its  meaning,  since  “holy 
ones  ”  is  there  given  as  synonymous  in  the  verses  preced¬ 
ing  and  following.  The  most  probable  explanation  of  the 
peculiar  phrase  (B’ne  Elim)  is  that  of  Gesenius,  Ewald, 
Delitzsch,  and  Riehm  in  his  edition  of  Hupfeld’s  Com¬ 
mentary  :  that  it  is  a  double  plural,  both  members  of  the 
compound  phrase  being  inflected.  Similarly  “  mighty 
men  of  valour”  (i  Chron.  vii.  5)  has  the  second  noun  in 
the  plural.  This  seems  more  probable  than  the  render¬ 
ing  “  sons  of  the  gods.”  The  psalmist  summons  these 
lofty  beings  to  “  give  ”  glory  and  strength  to  Jehovah  ; 
that  is,  to  ascribe  to  Him  the  attributes  manifested  in 
His  acts,  or,  as  ver.  2  puts  it,  “  the  glory  of  His 
name,”  i.e.,  belonging  to  His  character  as  thus  revealed. 
The  worship  of  earth  is  regarded  as  a  type  of  that  of 
heaven,  and  as  here,  so  there,  they  who  bow  before 
Him  are  to  be  clothed  in  “  holy  attire.”  The  thought 
underlying  this  ringing  summons  is  that  even  angels 
learn  the  character  of  God  from  the  exhibitions  of  His 
power  in  the  Creation,  and  as  they  sang  together  for 
joy  at  first,  still  attend  its  manifestations  with  adoration. 
The  contrast  of  their  praise  with  the  tumult  and  terror 
on  earth,  while  the  thunder  growls  in  the  sky,  is  surely 
not  unintended.  It  suggests  the  different  aspects  of 
God’s  dread  deeds  as  seen  by  them  and  by  men,  and 
carries  a  tacit  lesson  true  of  all  calamities  and  convul¬ 
sions.  The  thunder-cloud  hangs  boding  in  its  piled  blue 
blackness  to  those  who  from  beneath  watch  the  slow 
crumbling  away  of  its  torn  edges  and  the  ominous 
movements  in  its  sullen  heart  or  hear  the  crashes  from 


xxix.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


275 


its  depths,  but,  seen  from  above,  it  is  transfigured  by 
the  light  that  falls  on  its  upper  surface  ;  and  it  stretches 
placid  before  the  throne,  like  the  sea  of  glass  mingled 
with  fire.  Whatever  may  be  earth’s  terror,  heaven’s 
echo  of  God’s  thunders  is  praise. 

Then  the  storm  bursts.  We  can  hear  it  rolling  in 
the  short  periods,  mostly  uniform  in  structure  and 
grouped  in  verses  of  two  clauses  each,  the  second  cf 
which  echoes  the  first,  like  the  long-drawn  roll  that 
pauses,  slackens,  and  yet  persists.  Seven  times  “  the 
voice  of  Jehovah  ”  is  heard,  like  the  apocalyptic  “seven 
thunders  before  the  throne.”  The  poet’s  eye  travels 
with  the  swift  tempest,  and  his  picture  is  full  of  motion, 
sweeping  from  the  waters  above  the  firmament  to  earth 
and  from  the  northern  boundary  of  the  land  to  the 
far  south.  First  we  hear  the  mutterings  in  the  sky 
(ver.  3).  If  we  understood  “the  waters”  as  meaning 
the  Mediterranean,  we  should  have  the  picture  of  the 
storm  working  up  from  the  sea  ;  but  it  is  better  to  take 
the  expression  as  referring  to  the  super-terrestrial 
reservoirs  or  the  rain  flood  stored  in  the  thunder-clouds. 
Up  there  the  peals  roll  before  their  fury  shakes  the 
earth.  It  was  not  enough  in  the  poet’s  mind  to  call  the 
thunder  the  voice  of  Jehovah,  but  it  must  be  brought 
into  still  closer  connection  with  Him  by  the  plain 
statement  that  it  is  He  who  “  thunders  ”  and  who  rides 
on  the  storm-clouds  as  they  hurry  across  the  sky.  To 
catch  tones  of  a  Divine  voice,  full  of  power  and  majesty, 
in  a  noise  so  entirely  explicable  as  a  thunderclap, 
is,  no  doubt,  unscientific ;  but  the  Hebrew  contempla¬ 
tion  of  nature  is  occupied  with  another  set  of  ideas 
than  scientific,  and  is  entirely  unaffected  by  these. 
The  psalmist  had  no  notion  of  the  physical  cause 
of  thunder,  but  there  is  no  reason  why  a  man  who 


276  THE  PSALMS. 

can  make  as  much  electricity  as  he  wants  by  the 
grinding  of  a  dynamo  and  then  use  it  to  carry  his 
trivial  messages  should  not  repeat  the  psalmist’s 
devout  assertion.  We  can  assimilate  all  that  physicists 
can  tell  us,  and  then,  passing  into  another  region,  can 
hear  Jehovah  speaking  in  thunder.  The  psalm  begins 
where  science  leaves  off. 

While  the  psalmist  speaks  the  swift  tempest  has 
come  down  with  a  roar  and  a  crash  on  the  northern 
mountains,  and  Lebanon  and  “  Sirion  ”  (a  Sidonian 
name  for  Hermon)  reel,  and  the  firm-boled,  stately 
cedars  are  shivered.  The  structure  of  the  verses 
already  noticed,  in  which  the  second  clause  redupli¬ 
cates,  with  some  specialising,  the  thought  of  the  first, 
makes  it  probable  that  in  ver.  6  a  the  mountains,  and  not 
the  cedars,  are  meant  by  “  them.”  The  trees  are  broken  ; 
the  mountains  shake.  An  emendation  has  been  proposed, 
by  which  “Lebanon”  should  be  transferred  from  ver. 
5  to  ver.  6  and  substituted  for  “  them  ”  so  as  to  bring  out 
this  meaning  more  smoothly,  but  the  roughness  of  putting 
the  pronoun  in  the  first  clause  and  the  nouns  to  which 
it  refers  in  the  second  is  not  so  considerable  as  to 
require  the  change.  The  image  of  the  mountains 
“skipping”  sounds  exaggerated  to  Western  ears,  but 
is  not  infrequent  in  Scripture,  and  in  the  present 
instance  is  simply  a  strong  way  of  expressing  the 
violence  of  the  storm,  which  seems  even  to  shake  the 
steadfast  mountains  that  keep  guard  over  the  furthest 
borders  of  the  land.  Nor  are  we  to  forget  that  here 
there  may  be  some  hint  of  a  parable  in  nature.  The 
heights  are  thunder-smitten  %;  the  valleys  are  safe.  “  The 
day  of  the  Lord  shall  be  upon  all  the  cedars  of  Lebanon 
that  are  high  and  lifted  up,  .  .  .  and  upon  all  the  high 
mountains”  (Isa.  ii.  13,  14). 


xxix.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


277 


The  two-claused  verses  are  interrupted  by  one  of 
a  single  clause  (ver.  7),  the  brevity  of  which  vividly 
suggests  the  suddenness  and  speed  of  the  flash  :  “  The 
voice  of  Jehovah  cleaves  [or,  hews  out]  fire  flames.,, 
The  thunder  is  conceived  of  as  the  principal  phenomenon 
and  as  creating  the  lightning,  as  if  it  hewed  out  the 
flash  from  the  dark  mass  of  cloud.  A  corrected  accen¬ 
tuation  of  this  short  verse  divides  it  into  three  parts, 
perhaps  representing  the  triple  zigzag ;  but  in  any  case 
the  one  solitary,  sudden  fork,  blazing  fiercely  for  a 
moment  and  then  swallowed  up  in  the  gloom,  is  mar¬ 
vellously  given.  It  is  further  to  be  noted  that  this 
single  lightning  gleam  parts  the  description  of  the  storm 
into  two,  the  former  part  painting  it  as  in  the  north, 
the  latter  as  in  the  extreme  south.  It  has  swept  over 
the  whole  length  of  the  land,  while  we  have  been 
watching  the  flash.  Now  it  is  rolling  over  the  wide 
plain  of  the  southern  desert.  The  precise  position  of 
Kadesh  is  keenly  debated,  but  it  was  certainly  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  desert  region  on  the  southern 
border.  It,  too,  shakes,  low-lying  as  it  is ;  and  far  and 
wide  over  its  uninhabited  levels  the  tempest  ranges. 
Its  effects  there  are  variously  understood.  The 
parallelism  of  clauses  and  the  fact  that  nowhere  else 
in  the  picture  is  animal  life  introduced  give  great  pro¬ 
bability  to  the  very  slight  alteration  required  in  ver.  9  a , 
in  order  to  yield  the  rendering  u  pierces  the  oaks  ” 
(Cheyne),  instead  of  il  makes  the  hinds  calve  ”  which  • 
harmonises  admirably  with  the  next  clause ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  premature  dropping  of  the  young 
of  wild  animals  from  fear  is  said  to  be  an  authentic 
fact,  and  gives  a  defensible  trait  to  the  picture,  which  is 
perhaps  none  the  less  striking  for  the  introduction  of 
one  small  piece  of  animated  nature.  In  any  case  the 


278 


THE  PSALMS. 


next  clause  paints  the  dishevelled  forest  trees,  with 
scarred  bark,  broken  boughs,  and  strewn  leaves,  after 
the  fierce  roar  and  flash,  wind  and  rain,  have  swept 
over  them.  The  southern  border  must  have  been  very 
unlike  its  present  self,  or  the  poet’s  thoughts  must  have 
travelled  eastwards,  among  the  oaks  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Arabah,  if  the  local  colouring  of  ver.  9  is  correct. 

While  tumult  of  storm  and  crash  of  thunder  have 
been  raging  and  rolling  below,  the  singer  hears  “a 
deeper  voice  across  the  storm,”  the  songs  of  the  “  sons 
of  God  ”  in  the  temple  palace  above,  chanting  the  praise 
to  which  he  had  summoned  them.  “In  His  temple 
every  one  is  saying,  Glory  1  ”  That  is  the  issue  of  all 
storms.  The  clear  eyes  of  the  angels  see,  and  their 
“  loud  uplifted  trumpets  ”  celebrate,  the  lustrous  self¬ 
manifestation  of  Jehovah,  who  rides  upon  the  storm; 
and  makes  the  rush  of  the  thunder  minister  to  the 
fruitfulness  of  earth. 

But  what  of  the  effects  down  here  ?  The  concluding 
strophe  (vv.  10,  11)  tells.  Its  general  sense  is  clear, 
though  the  first  clause  of  ver.  10  is  ambiguous.  The 
source  of  the  difficulty  in  rendering  is  twofold.  The 
preposition  may  mean  “for” —  i.e.t  in  oilier  to  bring 
about — or,  according  to  some,  “  on,”  or  “  above,”  or 
“  at.”  The  word  rendered  “  flood  ”  is  only  used  else¬ 
where  in  reference  to  the  Noachic  deluge,  and  here  has 
the  definite  article,  which  is  most  naturally  explained 
as  fixing  the  reference  to  that  event ;  but  it  has  been 
objected  that  the  allusion  would  be  far-fetched  and  out 
of  place,  and  therefore  the  rendering  “  rain-storm  ”  has 
been  suggested.  In  the  absence  of  any  instance  of  the 
word’s  being  used  for  anything  but  the  Deluge,  it  is 
safest  to  retain  that  meaning  here.  There  must,  how¬ 
ever,  be  combined  with  that  rendering  an  allusion  to  the 


THE  PSALMS. 


279 


xxix.] 

torrents  of  thunder  rain,  which  closed  the  thunderstorm. 
These  could  scarcely  be  omitted.  They  remind  the 
singer  of  the  downpour  that  drowned  the  world,  and  his 
thought  is  that  just  as  Jehovah  “  sat  ” — i.e.f  solemnly 
took  His  place  as  King  and  Judge — in  order  to  execute 
that  act  of  retribution,  so,  in  all  subsequent  smaller 
acts  of  an  analogous  nature,  He  “  will  sit  enthroned  for 
ever.”  The  supremacy  of  Jehovah  over  all  transient 
tempests  and  the  judicial  punitive  nature  of  these  are 
the  thoughts  which  the  storm  has  left  with  him.  It 
has  rolled  away  ;  God,  who  sent  it,  remains  throned 
above  nature  and  floods  :  they  are  His  ministers. 

And  all  ends  with  a  sweet,  calm  word,  assuring 
Jehovah’s  people  of  a  share  in  the  “  strength  ”  which 
spoke  in  the  thunder,  and,  better  still,  of  peace.  That 
close  is  like  the  brightness  of  the  glistening  earth,  with 
freshened  air,  and  birds  venturing  to  sing  once  more, 
and  a  sky  of  deeper  blue,  and  the  spent  clouds  low  and 
harmless  on  the  horizon.  Beethoven  has  given  the 
same  contrast  between  storm  and  after-calm  in  the 
music  of  the  Pastoral  Symphony.  Faith  can  listen  to 
the  wildest  crashing  thunder  in  quiet  confidence  that 
angels  are  saying,  “  Glory  !  ”  as  each  peal  rolls,  and  that 
when  the  last,  low  mutterings  are  hushed,  earth  will 
smile  the  brighter,  and  deeper  peace  will  fall  on 
trusting  hearts. 


PSALM  XXX. 


1  Thee  will  I  exalt,  Jehovah,  for  me  hast  Thou  lifted  up, 

And  not  made  my  foes  rejoice  over  me. 

2  Jehovah,  my  God, 

I  cried  loudly  to  Thee,  and  Thou  healedst  me. 

3  Jehovah,  Thou  hast  brought  up  from  Sheol  my  soul ; 

Thou  hast  revived  me  from  among  those  who  descend  to  the  pit. 

4  Make  music  to  Jehovah,  ye  who  are  favoured  by  Him  ; 

And  thank  His  holy  Name. 

5  For  a  moment  passes  in  His  anger, 

A  life  in  His  favour ; 

In  the  evening  comes  weeping  as  a  guest, 

And  at  morn  [there  is]  a  shout  of  joy. 

6  But  I — I  said  in  my  security, 

I  shall  not  be  moved  for  ever. 

7  Jehovah,  by  Thy  favour  Thou  hadst  established  strength  to  my 

mountain  ; 

Thou  didst  hide  Thy  face  :  I  was  troubled. 

8  To  Thee,  Jehovah,  I  cried  ; 

And  to  the  Lord  I  made  supplication. 

9  11  What  profit  is  in  my  blood  when  I  descend  to  the  pit  ? 

Can  dust  thank  Thee  ?  can  it  declare  Thy  faithfulness? 

10  Hear,  Jehovah,  and  be  gracious  to  me  ; 

Jehovah,  be  my  Helper  !  ” 

11  Thou  didst  turn  for  me  my  mourning  to  dancing ; 

Thou  didst  unloose  my  sackcloth  and  gird  me  with  gladness, 

12  To  the  end  that  [my]  glory  should  make  music  to  Thee,  and  not 

be  silent : 

Jehovah,  my  God,  for  ever  will  I  thank  Thee. 

THE  title  of  this  psalm  is  apparently  a  composite,  the 
usual  “  Psalm  of  David  ”  having  been  enlarged  by 
the  awkward  insertion  of  11  A  Song  at  the  Dedication  of 
the  House,”  which  probably  indicates  its  later  liturgical 

280 


XXX.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


281 


use,  and  not  its  first  destination.  Its  occasion  was 
evidently  a  deliverance  from  grave  peril ;  and,  whilst  its 
tone  is  strikingly  inappropriate  if  it  had  been  composed 
for  the  inauguration  of  temple,  tabernacle,  or  palace, 
one  can  understand  how  the  venerable  words,  which 
praised  Jehovah  for  swift  deliverance  from  impending 
destruction,  would  be  felt  to  fit  the  circumstances  and 
emotions  of  the  time  when  the  Temple,  profaned  by  the 
mad  acts  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  was  purified  and  the 
ceremonial  worship  restored.  Never  had  Israel  seemed 
nearer  going  down  to  the  pit ;  never  had  deliverance 
come  more  suddenly  and  completely.  The  intrusive 
title  is  best  explained  as  dating  from  that  time  and 
indicating  the  use  then  found  for  the  song. 

It  is  an  outpouring  of  thankfulness,  and  mainly  a  leaf 
from  the  psalmist’s  autobiography,  interrupted  only  by 
a  call  to  all  who  share  Jehovah’s  favour  to  help  the 
single  voice  to  praise  Him  (vv.  4,  5).  The  familiar 
arrangement  in  pairs  of  verses  is  slightly  broken  twice, 
vv.  1-3  being  linked  together  as  a  kind  of  prelude  and 
vv.  8-10  as  a  repetition  of  the  singer’s  prayer.  His 
praise  breaks  the  barrier  of  silence  and  rushes  out  in  a 
flood.  The  very  first  word  tells  of  his  exuberant  thank¬ 
fulness,  and  stands  in  striking  relation  to  God’s  act  which 
evokes  it.  Jehovah  has  raised  him  from  the  very  sides 
of  the  pit,  and  therefore  what  shall  he  do  but  exalt 
Jehovah  by  praise  and  commemoration  of  His  deeds  ? 
The  song  runs  over  in  varying  expressions  for  the  one 
deliverance,  which  is  designated  as  lifting  up,  disappoint¬ 
ment  of  the  malignant  joy  of  enemies,  healing,  rescue 
from  Sheol  and  the  company  who  descend  thither,  by 
restoration  to  life.  Possibly  the  prose  fact  was  recovery 
from  sickness,  but  the  metaphor  of  healing  is  so  frequent 
that  the  literal  use  of  the  word  here  is  questionable. 


282 


THE  PSALMS. 


As  Calvin  remarks,  sackcloth  (ver.  n)  is  not  a  sick 
man’s  garb.  These  glad  repetitions  of  the  one  thought 
in  various  forms  indicate  how  deeply  moved  the  singer 
was,  and  how  lovingly  he  brooded  over  his  deliverance. 
A  heart  truly  penetrated  with  thankfulness  delights  to 
turn  its  blessings  round  and  round,  and  see  how  pris¬ 
matic  lights  play  on  their  facets,  as  on  revolving 
diamonds.  The  same  warmth  of  feeling,  which  glows 
in  the  reiterated  celebration  of  deliverance,  impels  to 
the  frequent  direct  mention  of  Jehovah.  Each  verse 
has  that  name  set  on  it  as  a  seal,  and  the  central  one 
of  the  three  (ver.  2),  not  content  with  it  only,  grasps 
Him  as  “  my  God,”  manifested  as  such  with  renewed 
and  deepened  tenderness  by  the  recent  fact  that  “  I  cried 
loudly  unto  Thee,  and  Thou  healedst  me.”  The  best 
result  of  God’s  goodness  is  a  firmer  assurance  of  a 
personal  relation  to  Him.  “  This  is  an  enclosure  of  a 
common  without  damage  :  to  make  God  mine  own,  to  find 
that  all  that  God  says  is  spoken  to  me  ”  (Donne).  The 
stress  of  these  three  verses  lies  on  the  reiterated  contem¬ 
plation  of  God’s  fresh  act  of  mercy  and  on  the  reiterated 
invocation  of  His  name,  which  is  not  vain  repetition,  but 
represents  distinct  acts  of  consciousness,  drawing  near 
to  delight  the  soul  in  thoughts  of  Him.  The  psalmist’s 
vow  of  praise  and  former  cry  for  help  could  not  be  left 
out  of  view,  since  the  one  was  the  condition  and  the 
other  the  issue  of  deliverance,  but  they  are  slightly 
touched.  Such  claiming  of  God  for  one’s  own  and  such 
absorbing  gaze  on  Him  are  the  intended  results  of  His 
deeds,  the  crown  of  devotion,  and  the  repose  of  the 
soul. 

True  thankfulness  is  expansive,  and  joy  craves  for 
sympathy.  So  the  psalmist  invites  other  voices  to  join 
his  song,  since  he  is  sure  that  others  there  are  who  have 


XXX.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


shared  his  experience.  It  has  been  but  one  instance  of 
a  universal  law  He  is  not  the  only  one  whom  Jehovah 
has  treated  with  loving-kindness,  and  he  would  fain 
hear  a  chorus  supporting  his  solo.  Therefore  he  calls 
upon  “  the  favoured  of  God  ”  to  swell  the  praise  with 
harp  and  voice  and  to  give  thanks  to  His  “  holy 
memorial/’  i.e.  the  name  by  which  His  deeds  of  grace 
are  commemorated.  The  ground  of  their  praise  is  the 
psalmist’s  own  case  generalised.  A  tiny  mirror  may 
reflect  the  sun,  and  the  humblest  person’s  history, 
devoutly  pondered,  will  yield  insight  into  God’s  widest 
dealings.  This,  then,  is  what  the  psalmist  had  learned 
in  suffering,  and  wishes  to  teach  in  song :  that  sorrow 
is  transient  and  joy  perennial.  A  cheerful  optimism 
should  be  the  fruit  of  experience,  and  especially  of 
sorrowful  experience.  The  antitheses  in  ver.  5  are 
obvious.  In  the  first  part  of  the  verse  “ anger”  and 
“  favour  ”  are  plainly  contrasted,  and  it  is  natural  to 
suppose  that  “  a  moment  ”  and  u  life  ”  are  so  too.  The 
rendering,  then,  is,  “A  moment  passes  in  His  anger, 
a  life  [i.e.y  a  lifetime]  in  His  favour.”  Sorrow  is  brief ; 
blessings  are  long.  Thunderstorms  occupy  but  a 

small  part  of  summer.  There  is  usually  less  sickness 
than  health  in  a  life.  But  memory  and  anticipation 
beat  out  sorrow  thin,  so  as  to  cover  a  great  space.  A 
little  solid  matter,  diffused  by  currents,  will  discolour 
miles  of  a  stream.  Unfortunately  we  have  better 
memories  for  trouble  than  for  blessing,  and  the  smart 
of  the  rose’s  prickles  lasts  longer  in  the  flesh  than  its 
fragrance  in  the  nostril  or  its  hue  in  the  eye.  But  the 
relation  of  ideas  here  is  not  merely  that  of  contrast. 
May  we  not  say  that  just  as  the  “  moment”  is  included 
in  the  “  life,”  so  the  “  anger  ”  is  in  the  “  favour  ”  ? 
Probably  that  application  of  the  thought  was  not  present 


284 


THE  PSALMS. 


to  the  psalmist,  but  it  is  an  Old  Testament  belief  that 
“whom  the  Lord  loveth  He  chasteneth,”  and  God's 
anger  is  the  aversion  of  holy  love  to  its  moral  opposite. 
Hence  comes  the  truth  that  varying  and  sometimes 
opposite  Divine  methods  have  one  motive  and  one 
purpose,  as  the  same  motion  of  the  earth  brings  summer 
and  winter  in  turn.  Since  the  desire  of  God  is  to  make 
men  partakers  of  His  holiness,  the  root  of  chastisement 
is  love,  and  hours  of  sorrow  are  not  interruptions  of  the 
continuous  favour  which  fills  the  life. 

A  like  double  antithesis  moulds  the  beautiful  image 
of  the  last  clause.  Night  and  morning  are  contrasted, 
as  are  weeping  and  joy ;  and  the  latter  contrast  is 
more  striking,  if  it  be  observed  that  “joy  ”  is  literally 
a  “joyful  shout,”  raised  by  the  voice  that  had  been 
breaking  into  audible  weeping.  The  verb  used  means 
to  lodge  for  a  night,  and  thus  the  whole  is  a  picture  of 
two  guests,  the  one  coming,  sombre-robed,  in  the  hour 
befitting  her,  the  other,  bright-garmented,  taking  the 
place  of  the  former,  when  all  things  are  dewy  and  sunny, 
in  the  morning.  The  thought  may  either  be  that  of  the 
substitution  of  joy  for  sorrow,  or  of  the  transformation 
of  sorrow  into  joy.  No  grief  lasts  in  its  first  bitterness. 
Recuperative  forces  begin  to  tell  by  slow  degrees.  “  The 
low  beginnings  of  content  ”  appear.  The  sharpest- 
cutting  edge  is  partially  blunted  by  time  and  what  it 
brings.  Tender  green  drapes  every  ruin.  Sorrow  is 
transformed  into  something  not  undeserving  of  the 
name  of  joy.  Griefs  accepted  change  their  nature. 
“Your  sorrow  shall  be  turned  into  joy.”  The  man 
who  in  the  darkness  took  in  the  dark  guest  to  sit  by  his 
fireside  finds  in  the  morning  that  she  is  transfigured, 
and  her  name  is  Gladness.  Rich  vintages  are  gathered 
on  the  crumbling  lava  of  the  quiescent  volcano.  Even 


THE  PSALMS. 


285 


XXX.] 

for  irremediable  losses  and  immedicable  griefs,  the 
psalmist’s  prophecy  is  true,  only  that  for  these  “  the 
morning  ”  is  beyond  earth’s  dim  dawns,  and  breaks 
when  this  night  which  we  call  life,  and  which  is  wearing 
thin,  is  past.  In  the  level  light  of  that  sunrise,  every 
raindrop  becomes  a  rainbow,  and  every  sorrow  rightly 
— that  is,  submissively — borne  shall  be  represented  by 
a  special  and  particular  joy. 

But  the  thrilling  sense  of  recent  deliverance  runs  in 
too  strong  a  current  to  be  long  turned  aside,  even  by 
the  thought  of  others’  praise ;  and  the  personal  element 
recurs  in  ver.  6,  and  persists  till  the  close.  This  latter 
part  falls  into  three  well-marked  minor  divisions :  the 
confession  of  self-confidence,  bred  of  ease  and  shattered 
by  chastisement,  in  vv.  6,  7 ;  the  prayer  of  the  man 
startled  into  renewed  dependence  in  vv.  8-10;  and 
the  closing  reiterated  commemoration  of  mercies  re¬ 
ceived  and  vow  of  thankful  praise,  which  echoes  the 
first  part,  in  vv.  II,  12. 

In  ver.  6  the  psalmist’s  foolish  confidence  is  emphatic¬ 
ally  contrasted  with  the  truth  won  by  experience  and 
stated  in  ver.  5.  “  The  law  of  God’s  dealings  .is  so, 

but  I — I  thought  so  and  so.”  The  word  rendered 
“  prosperity  ”  may  be  taken  as  meaning  also  security. 
The  passage  from  the  one  idea  to  the  other  is  easy,  in¬ 
asmuch  as  calm  days  lull  men  to  sleep,  and  make  it  hard 
to  believe  that  li  to-morrow  shall  ”  not  il  be  as  this  day.” 
Even  devout  hearts  are  apt  to  count  upon  the  continu¬ 
ance  of  present  good.  “  Because  they  have  no  changes, 
therefore  they  fear  not  God.”  The  bottom  of  the  crater 
of  Vesuvius  had  once  great  trees  growing,  the  produce 
of  centuries  of  quiescence.  It  would  be  difficult  to  think, 
when  looking  at  them,  that  they  would  ever  be  torn  up 
and  whirled  aloft  in  flame  by  a  new  outburst.  While 


2S  6 


TllE  PSALMS. 


continual  peril  and  change  may  not  foster  remembrance 
of  God,  continuous  peace  is  but  too  apt  to  lull  to  forget¬ 
fulness  of  Him.  The  psalmist  was  beguiled  by  comfort 
into  saying  precisely  what  “  the  wicked  said  in  his  heart  ” 
(Psalm  x.  6).  Plow  different  may  be  the  meaning  of 
the  same  words  on  different  lips  !  The  mad  arrogance 
of  the  godless  man’s  confidence,  the  error  of  the  good 
man  rocked  to  sleep  by  prosperity,  and  the  warranted 
confidence  of  a  trustful  soul  are  all  expressed  by  the 
same  words  ;  but  the  last  has  an  addition  which  changes 
the  whole  :  “  Because  He  is  at  my  right  hand ,  I  shall  not 
be  moved.”  The  end  of  the  first  man’s  boast  can  only 
be  destruction  ;  that  of  the  third’s  faith  will  certainly  be 
“  pleasures  for  evermore  ”  ;  that  of  the  second’s  lapse 
from  dependence  is  recorded  in  ver.  7.  The  sudden 
crash  of  his  false  security  is  graphically  reproduced  by 
the  abrupt  clauses  without  connecting  particles.  It  was 
the  “  favour  ”  already  celebrated  which  gave  the  stability 
which  had  been  abused.  Its  effect  is  described  in  terms 
of  which  the  general  meaning  is  clear,  though  the  exact 
rendering  is  doubtful.  **  Thou  hast  [or  hadst]  estab¬ 
lished  strength  to  my  mountain  ”  is  harsh,  and  the 
proposed  emendation  (Hupfeld,  Cheyne,  etc.),  “  hast  set 
me  on  strong  mountains,”  requires  the  addition  to  the 
text  of  the  pronoun.  In  either  case,  we  have  a  natural 
metaphor  for  prosperity.  The  emphasis  lies  on  the 
recognition  that  it  was  God’s  work,  a  truth  which  the 
psalmist  had  forgotten  and  had  to  be  taught  by 
the  sudden  withdrawal  of  God’s  countenance,  on  which 
followed  his  own  immediate  passage  from  careless 
security  to  agitation  and  alarm.  The  word  “  troubled  ” 
is  that  used  for  Saul’s  conflicting  emotions  and  despair 
in  the  witch’s  house  at  Endor,  and  for  the  agitation  of 
Joseph’s  brethren  when  they  heard  that  the  man  who 


XXX.] 


THE  PSALMS 


287 


had  their  lives  in  his  hand  was  their  wronged  brother. 
Thus  alarmed  and  filled  with  distracting  thoughts  was 
the  psalmist.  “  Thou  didst  hide  Thy  face,”  describes 
his  calamities  in  their  source.  When  the  sun  goes  in, 
an  immediate  gloom  wraps  the  land,  and  the  birds 
cease  to  sing.  But  the  “  trouble  ”  was  preferable  to 
“security,”  for  it  drove  to  God.  Any  tempest  which 
does  that  is  better  than  calm  which  beguiles  from  Him ; 
and,  since  all  His  storms  are  meant  to  “drive  us  to  His 
breast,”  they  come  from  His  “favour.” 

The  approach  to  God  is  told  in  vv.  8-10,  of  which  the 
two  latter  are  a  quotation  of  the  prayer  then  wrung  from 
the  psalmist.  The  ground  of  this  appeal  for  deliverance 
from  a  danger  threatening  life  is  as  in  Hezekiah’s 
prayer  (Isa.  xxxviii.  18,  19),  and  reflects  the  same  con¬ 
ception  of  the  state  of  the  dead  as  Psalm  vi.  5.  If  the 
suppliant  dies,  his  voice  will  be  missed  from  the  chorus 
which  sings  God’s  praise  on  earth.  “  The  dust  ”  (t.e.t  the 
grave)  is  a  region  of  silence.  Here,  where  life  yielded 
daily  proofs  of  God’s  “  truth  ”  (t.e.f  faithfulness),  it  could 
be  extolled,  but  there  dumb  tongues  could  bring  Him 
no  “  profit  ”  of  praise.  The  boldness  of  the  thought 
that  God  is  in  some  sense  advantaged  by  men’s  magni¬ 
fying  of  His  faithfulness,  the  cheerless  gaze  into  the 
dark  realm,  and  the  implication  that  to  live  is  desired 
not  only  for  the  sake  of  life’s  joys,  but  in  order  to  show 
forth  God’s  dealings,  are  all  remarkable.  The  tone  of 
the  prayer  indicates  the  imperfect  view  of  the  future 
life  which  shadows  many  psalms,  and  could  only  be 
completed  by  the  historical  facts  of  the  Resurrection  and 
Ascension.  Concern  for  the  honour  of  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  revelation  may,  in  this  matter,  be  stretched  to 
invalidate  the  distinctive  glory  of  the  New,  which  has 
“  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light.” 


288 


THE  PSALMS. 


With  quick  transition,  corresponding  to  the  swiftness 
of  the  answer  to  prayer,  the  closing  pair  of  verses  tells 
of  the  instantaneous  change  which  that  answer  wrought. 
As  ia  the  earlier  metaphor  weeping  was  transformed  into 
joy,  here  mourning  is  turned  into  dancing,  and  God’s 
hand  unties  the  cord  which  loosely  bound  the  sackcloth 
robe,  and  arrays  the  moprner  in  festival  attire.  The  same 
conception  of  the  sweetness  of  grateful  praise  to  the  ear 
of  God  which  was  presented  in  the  prayer  recurs  here, 
where  the  purpose  of  God’s  gifts  is  regarded  as  being 
man’s  praise.  The  thought  may  be  construed  so  as  to 
be  repulsive,  but  its  true  force  is  to  present  God  as 
desiring  hearts’  love  and  trust,  and  as  “  seeking  such  to 
worship  Him,”  because  therein  they  will  find  supreme 
and  abiding  bliss.  “  My  glory,”  that  wonderful  personal 
being,  which  in  its  lowest  debasement  retains  glimmering 
reflections  caught  from  God,  is  never  so  truly  glory  as 
when  it  “  sings  praise  to  Thee,”  and  never  so  blessed 
as  when,  through  a  longer  “  for  ever  ”  than  the  psalmist 
saw  stretching  before  him,  it  “  gives  thanks  unto  Thee.” 


> 


PSALM  XXXI. 

1  In  Thee,  Jehovah,  have  I  taken  refuge  :  let  me  never  be  ashamed ; 
In  Thy  righteousness  deliver  me. 

2  Bend  down  Thine  ear  to  me  :  speedily  extricate  me  ; 

Be  to  me  for  a  refuge-rock,  for  a  fortress-house,  to  save  me. 

3  For  my  rock  and  my  fortress  art  Thou, 

And  for  Thy  name’s  sake  wilt  guide  me  and  lead  me. 

4  Thou  wilt  bring  me  from  the  net  which  they  have  hidden  for  me, 
For  Thou  art  my  defence. 

5  Into  Thy  hand  I  commend  my  spirit ; 

Thou  hast  redeemed  me,  Jehovah,  God  of  faithfulness. 

6  I  hate  the  worshippers  of  empty  nothingnesses; 

And  I — to  Jehovah  do  I  cling. 

7  I  will  exult  and  be  joyful  in  Thy  loving-kindness, 

Who  hast  beheld  my  affliction, 

[And]  hast  taken  note  of  the  distresses  of  my  soul, 

8  And  hast  not  enclosed  me  in  the  hand  of  the  enemy , 

Thou  hast  set  my  feet  at  large. 

9  Be  merciful  to  me,  Jehovah,  for  I  am  in  straits; 

Wasted  away  in  grief  is  my  eye,-r-my  soul  and  my  body. 

10  For  my  life  is  consumed  with  sorrow, 

And  my  years  with  sighing  ; 

My  strength  reels  because  of  mine  iniquity, 

And  my  bones  are  wasted. 

1 1  Because  of  all  my  adversaries  I  am  become  a  reproach 

And  to  my  neighbours  exceedingly,  and  a  fear  to  my  acquain.- 
ances ; 

They  who  see  me  without  flee  from  me. 

12  I  am  forgotten,  out  of  mind,  like  a  dead  man; 

I  am  like  a  broken  vessel. 

13  For  I  hear  the  whispering  of  many, 

Terror  on  every  side  ; 

In  their  consulting  together  against  me, 

To  take  away  my  life  do  they  scheme. 

289 


19 


290 


THE  PSALMS. 


14  And  I — on  Thee  I  trust,  Jehovah ; 

I. say,  My  God  art  Thou. 

15  In  Thy  hand  are  my  times ; 

Rescue  me  from  the  hand  of  my  enemies  and  from  my  pursuers. 

16  Make  Thy  face  to  shine  upon  Thy  servant; 

Save  me  in  Thy  loving-kindness. 

1 7  Jehovah,  I  shall  not  be  shamed,  for  I  cry  to  Thee  ; 

The  wicked  shall  be  shamed,  shall  be  silent  in  Sheol. 

18  Dumb  shall  the  lying  lips  be  made, 

That  speak  arrogance  against  the  righteous, 

In  pride  and  contempt. 

19  How  great  is  Thy  goodness  which  Thou  dost  keep  in  secret  for 

them  who  fear  Thee, 

Dost  work  before  the  sons  of  men  for  them'  who  take  refuge  in 
Thee. 

20  Thou  dost  shelter  them  in  the  shelter  of  Thy  face  from  the  plots 

of  men ; 

Thou  keepest  them  in  secret  in  an  arbour  from  the  strife  of 
tongues. 

21  Blessed  be  Jehovah, 

For  He  has  done  marvels  of  loving-kindness  for  me  in  a  strong 
city ! 

22  And  I — I  said  in  my  agitation,  I  am  cut  off  from  before  Thine  eyes, 
But  truly  Thou  didst  hear  the  voice  of  my  supplication  in  my 

crying  aloud  to  Thee. 

23  Love  Jehovah,  all  His  beloved  ; 

Jehovah  keeps  faithfulness, 

And  repays  overflowingly  him  that  practises  pride. 

24  Be  strong,  and  let  your  heart  take  courage, 

All  ye  that  wait  on  Jehovah. 

THE  swift  transitions  of  feeling  in  this  psalm  may 
seem  strange  to  colder  natures  whose  lives  run 
smoothly,  but  reveal  a  brother-soul  to  those  who  have 
known  what  it  is  to  ride  on  the  top  of  the  wave  and 
then  to  go  down  into  its  trough.  What  is  peculiar  to 
the  psalm  is  not  only  the  inclusion  of  the  whole  gamut 
of  feeling,  but  the  force  with  which  each  key  is  struck 
and  the  persistence  through  all  of  the  one  ground  tone 
of  cleaving  to  Jehovah.  The  poetic  temperament  passes 


THE  PSALMS. 


291 


xxxi.] 


quickly  from  hope  to  fear.  The  devout  man  in  sorrow 
can  sometimes  look  away  from  a  darkened  earth  to  a 
bright  sky,  but  the  stern  realities  of  pain  and  loss  again 
force  themselves  in  upon  him.  The  psalm  is  like  an 
April  day,  in  which  sunshine  and  rain  chase  each  other 
across  the  plain. 

“The  beautiful  uncertain  weather, 

Where  gloom  and  glory  meet  together,” 

makes  the  landscape  live,  and  is  the  precursor  of  fruit¬ 
fulness. 

The  stream  of  the  psalmist’s  thoughts  now  runs  in 
shadow  of  grim  cliffs  and  vexed  by  opposing  rocks,  and 
now  opens  out  in  sunny  stretches  of  smoothness  ;  but 
its  source  is  “In  Thee,  Jehovah,  do  I  take  refuge  ” 
(ver.  1)  :  and  its  end  is  “  Be  strong,  and  let  your  heart 
take  courage,  all  ye  that  wait  for  Jehovah  ”  (ver.  24). 

The  first  turn  of  the  stream  is  in  vv.  1-4,  which 
consist  of  petitions  and  their  grounds.  The  prayers 
reveal  the  suppliant’s  state.  They  are  the  familiar  cries 
of  an  afflicted  soul  common  to  many  psalms,  and  pre¬ 
senting  no  special  features.  The  needs  of  the  human 
heart  are  uniform,  and  the  cry  of  distress  is  much  alike 
on  all  lips.  This  sufferer  asks,  as  his  fellows  have 
done  and  will  do,  for  deliverance,  a  swift  answer, 
shelter  and  defence,  guidance  and  leading,  escape  from 
the  net  spread  for  him.  These  are  the  commonplaces 
of  prayer,  which  God  is  not  wearied  of  hearing,  and 
which  fit  us  all.  The  last  place  to  look  for  originality 
is  in  the  “sighing  of  such  as  be  sorrowful.”  The  pleas 
on  which  the  petitions  rest  are  also  familiar.  The  man 
who  trusts  in  Jehovah  has  a  right  to  expect  that  his 
trust  will  not  be  put  to  shame,  since  God  is  faithful. 
Therefore  the  first  plea  is  thepsal  list’s  faith,  expressed 


THE  PSsLLMS. 


2g2 

in  ver.  I  by  the  word  which  literally  means  to  flee  to 
a  refuge.  The  fact  that  he  has  done  so  makes  his 
deliverance  a  work  of  God’s  “  righteousness.”  The 
metaphor  latent  in  u  flee  for  refuge  ”  comes  into  full 
sight  in  that  beautiful  plea  in  ver.  3,  which  uns}mi- 
pathetic  critics  would  call  illogical,  “  Be  for  me  a  refuge- 
rock,  for  .  .  .  Thou  art  my  rock.”  Be  what  Thou  art ; 
manifest  Thyself  in  act  to  be  what  Thou  art  in  nature  : 
be  what  I,  Thy  poor  servant,  have  taken  Thee  to  be. 
My  heart  has  clasped  Thy  revelation  of  Thyself  and 
fled  to  this  strong  tower.  Let  me  not  be  deceived 
and  find  it  incapable  of  sheltering  me  from  my  foes. 
u  Therefore  for  Thy  name’s  sake,”  or  because  of  that 
revelation  and  for  its  glory  as  true  in  men’s  sight, 
deliver  me.  God’s  nature  as  revealed  is  the  strongest 
plea  with  Him,  and  surely  that  cannot  but  be  potent 
and  acceptable  prayer  which  says,  Be  what  Thou  art, 
and  what  Thou  hast  taught  me  to  believe  Thee. 

Vv.  5-8  prolong  the  tone  of  the  preceding,  with  some 
difference,  inasmuch  as  God’s  past  acts  are  more  speci¬ 
fically  dwelt  on  as  the  ground  of  confidence.  In  this 
turn  of  the  stream,  faith  does  not  so  much  supplicate 
as  meditate,  plucking  the  flower  of  confidence  from  the 
nettle  of  past  dangers  and  deliverances,  and  renewing 
its  acts  of  surrender.  The  sacred  words  which  Jesus 
made  His  own  on  the  cross,  and  which  have  been  the 
last  utterance  of  so  many  saints,  were  meant  by  the 
psalmist  to  apply  to  life,  not  to  death.  He  laid  his 
spirit  as  a  precious  deposit  in  God’s  hand,  assured  that 
He  was  able  to  keep  that  which  was  committed  to  Him.  . 
Often  had  he  done  this  before,  and  now  he  does  it  once 
more.  Petitions  pass  into  surrender.  Resignation  as 
well  as  confidence  speaks.  To  lay  one’s  life  in  God’s 
hand  is  to  leave  the  disposal  of  it  to  Him,  and  such 


xxxi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


293 


absolute  submission  must  come  as  the  calm  close  and 
incipient  reward  of  every  cry  for  deliverance.  Trust 
should  not  be  hard  to  those  who  can  remember.  So 
Jehovah’s  past  redemptions — i.e.f  deliverances  from  tem¬ 
poral  dangers — are  its  ground  here ;  and  these  avail  as 
pledges  for  the  future,  since  He  is  “  the  God  of  truth,” 
who  can  never  falsify  His  past.  The  more  nestlingly  a 
soul  clings  to  God,  the  more  vehemently  will  it  recoil 
from  other  trust.  Attraction  and  repulsion  are  equal  and 
contrary.  The  more  clearly  it  sees  God’s  faithfulness 
and  living  power  as  a  reality  operating  in  its  life,  the 
more  penetrating  will  be  its  detection  of  the  falseness 
of  other  helpers.  “Nothingnesses  of  emptiness”  are 
they  all  to  one  who  has  felt  the  clasp  of  that  great, 
tender  hand ;  and  unless  the  soul  feels  them  to  be  such, 
it  will  never  strongly  clutch  or  firmly  hold  its  true  stay. 
Such  trust  has  its  crown  in  joyful  experience  of  God’s 
mercy  even  before  the  actual  deliverance  comes  to  pass, 
as  wind-borne  fragrance  meets  the  traveller  before  he 
sees  the  spice  gardens  from  which  it  comes.  The 
cohortative  verbs  in  ver.  7  may  be  petition  (“  Let  me 
exult  ”),  or  they  may  be  anticipation  of  future  glad¬ 
ness,  but  in  either  case  some  waft  of  joy  has  already 
reached  the  singer,  as  how  could  it  fail  to  do,  when  his 
faith  was  thus  renewing  itself,  and  his  eyes  gazing  on 
God’s  deeds  of  old  ?  The  past  tenses  in  vv.  7,  8,  refer 
to  former  experiences.  God’s  sight  of  the  psalmist’s 
affliction  was  not  idle  contemplation,  but  implied  active 
intervention.  To  “  take  note  of  the  distresses  of  my 
soul  ”  (or  possibly,  “  of  my  soul  in  distresses  ”)  is  the 
same  as  to  care  for  it.  It  is  enough  to  know  that  God 
sees  the  secret  sorrows,  the  obscure  trials  which  can 
be  told  to  none.  He  loves  as  well  as  knows,  and  looks 
on  no  griefs  which  He  will  not  comfort  nor  on  any 


294 


THE  PSALMS. 


wounds  which  He  is  not  ready  to  bind  up.  The 
psalmist  was  sure  that  God  had  seen,  because  he  had 
experienced  His  delivering  power,  as  he  goes  on  joy¬ 
fully  to  tell.  The  figure  in  ver.  8  a  points  back  to  the 
act  of  trust  in  ver.  5.  How  should  God  let  the  hand 
of  the  enemy  close  round  and  crush  the  spirit  which 
had  been  entrusted  to  His  own  hand  ?  One  sees  the 
greedy  fingers  of  the  foe  drawing  themselves  together 
on  their  prey  as  on  a  fly,  but  they  close  on  nothing. 
Instead  of  suffering  constraint  the  delivered  spirit 
walks  at  liberty.  They  who  are  enclosed  in  God’s  hand 
have  ample  room  there  ;  and  unhindered  activity,  with 
the  ennobling  consciousness  of  freedom,  is  the  reward 
of  trust. 

Is  it  inconceivable  that  such  sunny  confidence  should 
be  suddenly  clouded  and  followed,  as  in  the  third  turn 
of  thought  (vv.  9-13),  by  plaintive  absorption  in  the 
sad  realities  of  present  distress  ?  The  very  remem¬ 
brance  of  a  brighter  past  may  have  sharpened  the 
sense  of  present  trouble.  But  it  is  to  be  noted  that 
these  complaints  are  prayer,  not  aimless,  self-pitying 
wailing.  The  enumeration  of  miseries  which  begins 

with  “  Have  mercy  upon  me,  for - ,”  has  a  hidden 

hope  tinging  its  darkness,  like  the  faint  flush  of  sun¬ 
rise  on  clouds.  There  is  no  such  violent  change  ot 
tone  as  is  sometimes  conceived ;  but  the  pleas  of  the 
former  parts  are  continued  in  this  section,  which  adds 
the  psalmist’s  sore  need  to  God’s  past  and  the  suppliant’s 
faith,  as  another  reason  for  Jehovah’s  help.  He  begins 
with  the  effects  of  his  trouble  on  himself  in  body  and 
soul ;  thence  he  passes  to  its  consequences  on  those 
around  him,  and  finally  he  spreads  before  God  its  cause  : 
plots  against  his  life.  The  resemblances  to  Psalm  vi. 
and  to  several  parts  of  Jeremiah  are  unmistakable. 


xxxi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


295 


In  vv.  9,  10,  the  physical  and  mental  effects  of  anxiety 
are  graphically  described.  Sunken  eyes,  enfeebled  soul, 
wasted  body,  are  gaunt  witnesses  of  his  distress.  Cares 
seem  to  him  to  have  gnawed  his  very  bones,  so  weak  is 
he.  All  that  he  can  do  is  to  sigh.  And  worse  than  all, 
conscience  tells  him  that  his  own  sin  underlies  his 
trouble,  and  so  he  is  without  inward  stay.  The  picture 
seems  exaggerated  to  easy-going,  prosperous  people ; 
but  many  a  sufferer  has  since  recognised  himself  in  it 
as  in  a  mirror,  and  been  thankful  for  words  which  gave 
voice  to  his  pained  heart  and  cheered  him  with  the  sense 
of  companionship  in  the  gloom. 

Vv.  11,  12,  are  mainly  the  description  of  the  often- 
repeated  experience  of  friends  forsaking  the  troubled. 
“  Because  of  all  my  adversaries  ”  somewhat  anticipates 
ver.  1 3  in  assigning  the  reason  for  the  cowardly 
desertion.  The  three  phrases  “neighbours,”  “acquaint¬ 
ance,”  and  “those  who  see  me  without  ”  indicate  con¬ 
centric  circles  of  increasing  diameter.  The  psalmist 
is  in  the  middle ;  and  round  him  are,  first,  neighbours, 
who  pour  reproach  on  him,  because  of  his  enemies, 
then  the  wider  range  of  “acquaintances,”  afraid  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  one  who  has  such  strong  and 
numerous  foes,  and  remotest  of  all,  the  chance  people 
met  on  the  way  who  fly  from  Him,  as  infected  and 
dangerous.  “They  all  forsook  Him  and  fled.”  That 
bitter  ingredient  mingles  in  every  cup  of  sorrow.  The 
meanness  of  human  nature  and  the  selfishness  of  much 
apparent  friendship  are  commonplaces,  but  the  experi¬ 
ence  of  them  is  always  as  painful  and  astonishing,  as 
if  nobody  besides  had  ever  suffered  therefrom.  The 
roughness  of  structure  in  ver.  1 1  b}  “  and  unto  my 
neighbours  exceedingly,”  seems  to  fit  the  psalmist’s 
emotion,  and  does  not  peed  the  emendation  of  “  ex- 


296 


THE  PSALMS. 


ceedingly  ”  into  “  burden  ”  (Delitzsch)  or  “  shaking  of 
the  head  ”  (Cheyne). 

In  ver.  12  the  desertion  is  bitterly  summed  up,  as 
like  the  oblivion  that  waits  for  the  dead.  The  unsym¬ 
pathising  world  goes  on  its  way,  and  friends  find  new 
interests  and  forget  the  broken  man,  who  used  to  be  so 
much  to  them,  as  completely  as  if  he  were  in  his  grave, 
or  as  they  do  the  damaged  cup,  flung  on  the  rubbish 
heap.  Ver.  13  discloses  the  nature  of  the  calamity  which 
has  had  these  effects.  Whispering  slanders  buzz  round 
him  ;  he  is  ringed  about  with  causes  for  fear,  since 
enemies  are  plotting  his  death.  The  use  of  the  first 
part  of  the  verse  by  Jeremiah  does  not  require  the 
hypothesis  of  his  authorship  of  the  psalm,  nor  of  the 
prophet’s  priority  to  the  psalmist.  It  is  always  a 
difficult  problem  to  settle  which  of  two  cases  of  the 
employment  of  the  same  phrase  is  original  and  which 
quotation.  The  criteria  are  elastic,  and  the  conclusion  is 
very  often  arrived  at  in  deference  to  preconceived  ideas. 
But  Jeremiah  uses  the  phrase  as  if  it  were  a  proverb  or 
familiar  expression,  and  the  psalmist  as  if  it  were  the 
freshly  struck  coinage  of  his  own  experience. 

Again  the  key  changes,  and  the  minor  is  modulated 
into  confident  petition.  It  is  the  test  of  true  trust  that 
it  is  deepened  by  the  fullest  recognition  of  dangers  and 
enemies.  The  same  facts  may  feed  despair  and  be  the 
fuel  of  faith.  This  man’s  eyes  took  in  all  surrounding 
evils,  and  these  drove  him  to  avert  his  gaze  from  them 
and  fix  it  on  Jehovah.  That  is  the  best  thing  that 
troubles  can  do  for  us.  If  they,  on  the  contrary, 
monopolise  our  sight,  they  turn  our  hearts  to  stone  ; 
but  if  we  can  wrench  our  stare  from  them,  they  clear 
our  vision  to  see  our  Helper.  In  vv.  14-18  we  have 
the  recoil  of  the  devout  soul  to  God,  occasioned  by  its 


xxxi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


297 


recognition  of  need  and  helplessness.  This  turn  of  the 
psalm  begins  with  a  strong  emphatic  adversative  :  “  But 
I — I  trust  in  Jehovah.”  We  see  the  man  flinging  him¬ 
self  into  the  arms  of  God.  The  word  for  “  trust  ”  is 
the  same  as  in  ver.  6,  and  means  to  hang  or  lean  uponf 
or,  as  we  say,  to  depend  on.  He  utters  his  trust  in 
his  prayer,  which  occupies  the  rest  of  this  part  of  the 
psalm.  A  prayer,  which  is  the  voice  of  trust,  does  not 
begin  with  petition,  but  with  renewed  adherence  to  God 
and  happy  consciousness  of  the  soul’s  relation  to  Him, 
and  thence  melts  into  supplication  for  the  blessings  which 
are  consequences  of  that  relation.  To  feel,  on  occasion 
of  the  very  dreariness  of  circumstances,  that  God  is 
mine,  makes  miraculous  sunrise  at  midnight.  Built 
on  that  act  of  trust  claiming  its  portion  in  God,  is  the 
recognition  of  God’s  all-regulating  hand,  as  shaping  the 
psalmist’s  “  times,”  the  changing  periods,  each  of  which 
has  its  definite  character,  responsibilities,  and  oppor¬ 
tunities.  Every  man’s  life  is  a  series  of  crises,  in  each 
of  which  there  is  some  special  work  to  be  done  or  lesson 
to  be  learned,  some  particular  virtue  to  be  cultivated  or 
sacrifice  made.  The  opportunity  does  not  return.  “It 
might  have  been  once ;  and  we  missed  it,  lost  it  for 
ever.” 

But  the  psalmist  is  thinking  rather  of  the  varying 
complexion  of  his  days  as  bright  or  dark ;  and  looking 
beyond  circumstances,  he  sees  God.  The  “  hand  of 
mine  enemies  ”  seems  shrivelled  into  impotence  when 
contrasted  with  that  great  hand,  to  which  he  has  com¬ 
mitted  his  spirit,  and  in  which  are  his  “  times  ”  ;  and  the 
psalmist’s  recognition  that  it  holds  his  destiny  is  the 
ground  of  his  prayer  lor  deliverance  from  the  foes’ 
paralysed  grasp.  They  who  feel  the  tender  clasp  of 
an  almighty  hand  need  not  doubt  their  security  from 


298 


THE  PSALMS 


hostile  assaults.  The  petitions  proper  are  three  in 
number  :  for  deliverance,  for  the  light  of  God’s  face, 
and  for  “salvation.”  The  central  petition  recalls  the 
priestly  blessing  (Num.  vi.  25).  It  asks  for  conscious¬ 
ness  of  God’s  friendship  and  for  the  manifestation 
thereof  in  safety  from  present  dangers.  That  face, 
turned  in  love  to  a  man,  can  “make  a  sunshine  in  a 
shady  place,”  and  brings  healing  on  its  beams.  It 
seems  best  to  take  the  verbs  in  vv.  17,  18,  as  futures 
and  not  optatives.  The  prayer  passes  into  assurance 
of  its  answer,  and  what  was  petition  in  ver.  1  is  now 
trustful  prediction  :  “  I  shall  not  be  ashamed,  for  I  cry 
to  Thee.”  With  like  elevation  of  faith,  the  psalmist 
foresees  the  end  of  the  whispering  defamers  round 
him  :  shame  for  their  vain  plots  and  their  silent  descent 
to  the  silent  land.  The  loudest  outcry  against  God’s 
lovers  will  be  hushed  some  day,  and  the  hands  that 
threatened  them  will  be  laid  motionless  and  stiff  across 
motionless  breasts.  He  who  stands  by  God  and  looks 
forward,  can,  by  the  light  of  that  face,  see  the  end  of 
much  transient  bluster,  “  with  pride  and  contempt,’ 
against  the  righteous.  Lying  lips  fall  dumb  ;  praying 
lips,  like  the  psalmist’s,  are  opened  to  show  forth  God’s 
praise.  His  prayer  is  audible  still  across  the  centuries  ; 
the  mutterings  of  his  enemies  only  live  in  his  mention 
of  them. 

That  assurance  prepares  the  way  for  the  noble  burst 
of  thanksgiving,  as  for  accomplished  deliverance,  which 
ends  the  psalm,  springing  up  in  a  joyous  outpouring  of 
melody,  like  a  lark  from  a  bare  furrow.  But  there  is 
no  such  change  of  tone  as  to  warrant  the  supposition 
that  these  last  verses  (19-24)  are  either  the  psalmist’s 
later  addition  or  the  work  of  another,  nor  do  they 
oblige  us  to  suppose  that  the  whole  psalm  was  written 


xxxi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


299 


after  the  peril  which  it  commemorates  had  passed. 
Rather  the  same  voice  which  triumphantly  rings  out  in 
these  last  verses  has  been  sounding  in  the  preceding, 
even  in  their  saddest  strains.  The  ear  catches  a  twitter 
hushed  again  and  renewed  more  than  once  before  the 
full  song  breaks  out.  The  psalmist  has  been  absorbed 
with  his  own  troubles  till  now,  but  thankfulness 
expands  his  vision,  and  suddenly  there  is  with  him  a 
multitude  of  fellow-dependants  on  God’s  goodness.  He 
hungers  alone,  but  he  feasts  in  company.  The  abun¬ 
dance  of  God’s  “  goodness  ”  is  conceived  of  as  a  treasure 
stored,  and  in  part  openly  displayed,  before  the  sons  of 
men.  The  antithesis  suggests  manifold  applications  of 
the  contrast,  such  as  the  inexhaustibleness  of  the  mercy 
which,  after  all  revelation,  remains  unrevealed,  and, 
after  all  expenditure,  has  not  perceptibly  diminished  in 
its  shining  mass,  as  of  bullion  in  some  vault;  or  the 
varying  dealings  of  God,  who  sometimes,  while  sorrow 
is  allowed  to  have  its  scope,  seems  to  keep  His  riches 
of  help  under  lock  and  key,  and  then  again  flashes 
them  forth  in  deeds  of  deliverance ;  or  the  difference 
between  the  partial  unfolding  of  these  on  earth  and  the 
full  endowment  of  His  servants  with  “  riches  in  glory  ” 
hereafter.  All  these  carry  the  one  lesson  that  there  is 
more  in  God  than  any  creature  or  all  creatures  have 
ever  drawn  from  Him  or  can  ever  draw.  The  repeti¬ 
tion  of  the  idea  of  hiding  in  ver.  20  is  a  true  touch  of 
devout  poetry.  The  same  word  is  used  for  laying  up 
the  treasure  and  for  sheltering  in  a  pavilion  from  the 
jangle  of  tongues.  The  wealth  and  the  poor  men  who 
need  it  are  stored  together,  as  it  were  ;  and  the  place 
where  they  both  lie  safe  is  God  Himself.  How  can 
they  be  poor  who  are  dwelling  close  beside  infinite 
riches  ?  The  psalmist  has  just  prayed  that  God  would 


300 


THE  PSALMS. 


make  His  face  to  shine  upon  him  ;  and  now  he  rejoices 
in  the  assurance  of  the  answer,  and  knows  himself  and 
all  like-minded  men  to  be  hidden  in  that  tl  glorious 
privacy  of  light, ’’jwhere  evil  things  cannot  live.  As  if 
caught  up  to  and  “  clothed  with  the  sun,”  he  and  they 
are  beyond  the  reach  of  hostile  conspiracies,  and  have 
“outsoared  the  shadow  of”  earth’s  antagonisms.  The 
great  thought  of  security  in  God  has  never  been  more 
nobly  expressed  than  by  that  magnificent  metaphor  of 
the  light  inaccessible  streaming  from  God’s  face  to  be 
the  bulwark  of  a  poor  man. 

The  personal  tone  recurs  for  a  moment' in  vv.  21,  22, 
in  which  it  is  doubtful  whether  we  hear  thankfulness 
for  deliverance  anticipated  as  certain  and  so  spoken  of 
as  past,  since  it  is  as  good  as  done,  or  for  some  recently 
experienced  marvel  of  loving-kindness,  which  heartens 
the  psalmist  in  present  trouble.  If  this  psalm  is 
David’s,  the  reference  may  be  to  his  finding  a  city  of 
refuge,  at  the  time  when  his  fortunes  were  very  low,  in 
Ziklag,  a  strange  place  for  a  Jewish  fugitive  to  be 
sheltered.  One  can  scarcely  help  feeling  that  the 
allusion  is  so  specific  as  to  suggest  historical  fact  as  its 
basis.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
expression  may  be  the  carrying  on  of  the  metaphor  of 
the  hiding  in  a  pavilion.  The  “  strong  city  ”  is  worthily 
interpreted  as  being  God  Himself,  though  the  historical 
explanation  is  tempting.  God’s  mercy  makes  a  true 
man  ashamed  of  his  doubts,  and  therefore  the  thanks¬ 
giving  of  ver.  21  leads  to  the  confession  of  ver.  22. 
Agitated  into  despair,  the  psalmist  had  thought  that  he 
was  “  cut  off  from  God’s  eyes  ” — i.e.,  hidden  so  as  not  to 
be  helped — but  the  event  has  showed  that  God  both 
heard  and  saw  him.  If  alarm  does  not  so  make  us 
think  that  God  is  blind  to  our  need  and  deaf  to  our  cry 


xxxi.j  THE  PSALMS.  301 

as  to  make  11s  dumb,  we  shall  be  taught  the  folly  of  our 
fears  by  His  answers  to  our  prayers.  These  will  have 
a  voice  of  gentle  rebuke,  and  ask  us,  “  O  thou  of  little 
faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt  ?  ”  He  delivers  first, 
and  lets  the  deliverance  stand  in  place  of  chiding. 

The  whole  closes  with  a  summons  to  all  whom 
Jehovah  loves  to  love  Him  for  His  mercy’s  sake.  The 
joyful  singer  longs  for  a  chorus  to  join  his  single  voice,  as 
all  devout  hearts  do.  He  generalises  his  own  experience, 
as  all  who  have  for  themselves  experienced  deliverance 
are  entitled  and  bound  to  do,  and  discerns  that  in  his 
single  case  the  broad  law  is  attested  that  the  faithful 
are  guarded  whatever  dangers  assail,  and  “  the  proud 
doer  ”  abundantly  repaid  for  all  his  contempt  and 
hatred  of  the  just.  Therefore  the  last  result  of  contem¬ 
plating  God’s  ways  with  His  servants  is  an  incentive  to 
courage,  strength,  and  patient  waiting  for  the  Lord. 


PSALM  XXXII. 

1  Blessed  he  whose  transgression  is  taken  away,  whose  sin  is 

covered, 

2  Blessed  the  man  to  whom  Jehovah  reckons  not  iniquity, 

In  whose  spirit  is  no  guile. 

3  When  I  kept  silence,  my  bones  rotted  away, 

Through  my  roaring  all  the  day. 

4  For  day  and  night  Thy  hand  weighed  heavily  upon  me ; 

My  sap  was  turned  [as]  in  droughts  of  summer.  Selah. 

5  My  sin  I  acknowledged  to  Thee,  and  my  iniquity  I  covered  not  ; 

I  said,  I  will  confess  because  of  my  transgressions  to  Jehovah, 

And  Thou — Thou  didst  take  away  the  iniquity  of  my  sin.  Selah. 

Because  of  this  let  every  one  beloved  [of  Thee]  pray  to  Thee  in  a 
time  of  finding ; 

Surety  when  great  waters  are  in  flood,  to  him  they  shall  not  reach. 
Thou  art  a  shelter  for  me;  from  trouble  wilt  Thou  preserve  me, 
[With]  shouts  of  deliverance  wilt  encircle  me.  Selah. 

I  will  instruct  thee  and  teach  thee  in  the  way  which  thou  shouldest 

go; 

I  will  counsel  thee,  [with]  mine  eye  upon  thee. 

Be  not  ye  like  horse,  like  mule,  without  understanding, 

Whose  harness  to  hold  them  in  is  bit  and  bridle, 

Else  no  coming  near  to  thee. 

The  wicked  has  many  sorrows, 

And  he  who  trusts  in  Jehovah — with  loving-kindness  will  He 
encircle  him. 

1 1  Rejoice  in  Jehovah,  and  exult,  ye  righteous  ; 

And  shout  joyfully,  all  ye  upright  of  heart. 

ONE  must  have  a  dull  ear  not  to  hear  the  voice  of 
personal  experience  in  this  psalm.  It  throbs 
with  emotion,  and  is  a  burst  of  rapture  from  a  heart 
tasting  the  sweetness  of  the  new  joy  of  forgiveness. 

302 


6 

7 

8 

9 

10 


XXxii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


3°3 


It  is  hard  to  believe  that  the  speaker  is  but  a  personi¬ 
fication  of  the  nation,  and  the  difficulty  is  recognised 
by  Cheyne’s  concession  that  we  have  here  “  principally, 
though  not  exclusively,  a  national  psalm.”  The  old 
opinion  that  it  records  David’s  experience  in  the  dark 
time  when,  for  a  whole  year,  he  lived  impenitent  after 
his  great  sin  of  sense,  and  was  then  broken  down 
by  Nathan’s  message  and  restored  to  peace  through 
pardon  following  swiftly  on  penitence,  is  still  defensible, 
and  gives  a  fit  setting  for  this  gem.  Whoever  was 
the  singer,  his  song  goes  deep  down  to  permanent 
realities  in  conscience  and  in  men’s  relations  to  God, 
and  therefore  is  not  for  an  age,  but  for  all  time. 
Across  the  dim  waste  of  years,  we  hear  this  man 
speaking  our  sins,  our  penitence,  our  joy;  and  the 
antique  words  are  as  fresh,  and  fit  as  close  to  our 
experiences,  as  if  they  had  been  welled  up  from  a 
living  heart  to-day.  The  theme  is  the  way  of  forgive¬ 
ness  and  its  blessedness  ;  and  this  is  set  forth  in  two 
parts :  the  first  (vv.  1-5)  a  leaf  from  the  psalmist’s 
autobiography,  the  second  (ver.  6  to  end)  the  generali¬ 
sation  of  individual  experience  and  its  application  to 
others.  In  each  part  the  prevailing  division  of  verses 
is  into  strophes  of  two,  each  containing  two  members, 
but  with  some  irregularity. 

The  page  from  the  psalmist’s  confessions  (vv.  1-5) 
begins  with  a  burst  of  rapturous  thankfulness  for 
the  joy  of  forgiveness  (vv.  I,  2),  passes  to  paint  in 
dark  colours  the  misery  of  sullen  impenitence  (vv.  3,  4), 
and  then,  in  one  longer  verse,  tells  with  glad  wonder 
how  sudden  and  complete  was  the  transition  to  the 
joy  of  forgiveness  by  the  way  of  penitence.  It  is  a 
chart  of  one  man’s  path  from  the  depths  to  the  heights, 
and  avails  to  guide  all. 


THE  PSALMS. 


3°  4 

The  psalmist  begins  abruptly  with  an  exclamation 
(Oh,  the  blessedness,  etc.).  His  new  joy  wells  up 
irrepressibly.  To  think  that  he  who^had  gone  so  far 
down  in  the  mire,  and  had  locked  his  lips  in  silence 
for  so  long,  should  find  himself  so  blessed  1  Joy  so 
exuberant  cannot  content  itself  with  one  statement  of  its 
grounds.  It  runs  over  in  synonyms  for  sin  and  its 
forgiveness,  which  are  not  feeble  tautology.  The  heart 
is  too  full  to  be  emptied  at  one  outpouring,  and  though 
all  the  clauses  describe  the  same  things,  they  do  so 
with  differences.  This  is  true  with  regard  to  the  words 
both  for  sin  and  for  pardon.  The  three  designations 
of  the  former  present  three  aspects  of  its  hideousness. 
The  first,  rendered  (“transgression,”)  conceives  of  it  as 
rebellion  against  rightful  authority,  not  merely  breach 
of  an  impersonal  law,  but  breaking  away  from  a  right¬ 
ful  king.  The  second  (“  sin  ”)  describes  it  as  missing 
a  mark.  What  is  in  regard  to  God  rebellion  is  in 
regard  to  myself  missing  the  aim,  whether  that  aim 
be  considered  as  that  which  a  man  is,  by  his  very 
make  and  relations,  intended  to  be  and  do,  or  as  that 
which  he  proposes  to  himself  by  his  act.  All  sin 
tragically  fails  to  hit  the  mark  in  both  these  senses. 
It  is  a  failure  as  to  reaching  the  ideal  of  conduct,  “  the 
chief  end  of  man,”  and  not  less  so  as  to  winning  the 
satisfaction  sought  by  the  deed.  It  keeps  the  word 
of  promise  to  the  ear,  and  breaks  it  to  the  hope, 
ever  luring  by  lying  offers ;  and  if  it  gives  the  poor 
delights  which  it  holds  out,  it  ever  adds  something  that 
embitters  them,  like  spirits  of  wine  methylated  and 
made  undrinkable.  It  is  always  a  blunder  to  do  wrong. 
The  last  synonym  (“  iniquity  ”)  means  crookedness 
or  distortion,  and  seems  to  embody  the  same  idea  as 
our  words  “  right  ”  and  “  wrong,”  namely  the  contrast 


xxxii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


305 


between  the  straight  line  of  duty  and  the  contorted 
lines  drawn  by  sinful  hands.  What  runs  parallel  with 
law  is  right ;  what  diverges  is  wrong.  The  three 
expressions  for  pardon  are  also  eloquent  in  their  variety. 
The  first  word  means  taken  away  or  lifted  off,  as  a 
burden  from  aching  shoulders.  It  implies  more  than 
holding  back  penal  consequences ;  it  is  the  removal  of 
sin  itself,  and  that  not  merely  in  the  multitudinousness 
of  its  manifestations  in  act,  but  in  the  depth  of  its 
inward  source.  This  is  the  metaphor  which  Bunyan 
has  made  so  familiar  by  his  picture  of  the  pilgrim 
losing  his  load  at  the  cross.  The  second  (u  covered  ”) 
paints  pardon  as  God’s  shrouding  the  foul  thing  from 
His  pure  eyes,  so  that  His  action  is  no  longer  deter¬ 
mined  by  its  existence.  The  third  describes  forgiveness 
as  God’s  not  reckoning  a  man’s  sin  to  him,  in  which 
expression  hovers  some  allusion  to  cancelling  a  debt. 
The  clause  “  in  whose  spirit  is  no  guile  ”  is  best 
taken  as  a  conditional  one,  pointing  to  sincerity  which 
confesses  guilt  as  a  condition  of  pardon.  But  the 
alternative  construction  as  a  continuation  of  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  forgiven  man  is  quite  possible ;  and  if  thus 
understood,  the  crowning  blessing  of  pardon  is  set 
forth  as  being  the  liberation  of  the  forgiven  spirit  from 
all  “  guile  ”  or  evil.  God’s  kiss  of  forgiveness  sucks 
the  poison  from  the  wound. 

Retrospect  of  the  dismal  depth  from  which  it  has 
climbed  is  natural  to  a  soul  sunning  itself  on  high. 
Therefore  on  the  overflowing  description  of  present 
blessedness  follows  a  shuddering  glance  downwards 
to  past  unrest.  Sullen  silence  caused  the  one ;  frank 
acknowledgment  brought  the  other.  He  who  will  not 
speak  his  sin  to  God  has  to  groan.  A  dumb  conscience 
often  makes  a  loud-voiced  pain.  This  man’s  sin  had 

20 


306 


THE  PSALMS. 


indeed  missed  its  aim ;  for  it  had  brought  about  three 
things :  rotting  bones  (which  may  be  but  a  strong 
metaphor  or  may  be  a  physical  fact),  the  consciousness 
of  God’s  displeasure  dimly  felt  as  if  a  great  hand  were 
pressing  him  down,  and  the  drying  up  of  the  sap  of  his 
life,  as  if  the  fierce  heat  of  summer  had  burned  the 
marrow  in  his  bones.  These  were  the  fruits  of  pleasant 
sin,  and  by  reason  of  them  many  a  moan  broke  from 
his  locked  lips.  Stolid  indifference  may  delay  remorse, 
but  its  serpent  fang  strikes  soon  or  later,  and  then 
strength  and  joy  die.  The  Selah  indicates  a  swell  or 
prolongation  of  the  accompaniment,  to-  emphasise  this 
terrible  picture  of  a  soul  gnawing  itself. 

The  abrupt  turn  to  description  of  the  opposite  dis¬ 
position  in  ver.  5  suggests  a  sudden  gush  of  penitence. 
As  at  a  bound,  the  soul  passes  from  dreary  remorse. 
The  break  with  the  former  self  is  complete,  and  effected 
in  one  wrench.  Some  things  are  best  done  by  degrees  ; 
and  some,  of  which  forsaking  sin  is  one,  are  best  done 
quickly.  And  as  swift  as  the  resolve  to  crave  pardon, 
so  swift  is  the  answer  giving  it.  We  are  reminded  of 
that  gospel  compressed  into  a  verse,  “  David  said  unto 
Nathan,  I  have  sinned  against  the  Lord.  And  Nathan 
said  unto  David,  The  Lord  also  hath  put  away  thy 
sin.”  Again  the  three  designations  of  sin  are  employed, 
though  in  different  order  ;  and  the  act  of  confession  is 
thrice  mentioned,  as  that  of  forgiveness  was.  The 
fulness  and  immediateness  of  pardon  are  emphatically 
given  by  the  double  epithet  “  the  iniquity  of  thy  sin  ” 
and  by  the  representation  that  it  follows  the  resolve  to 
confess,  and  does  not  wait  for  the  act.  The  Divine 
love  is  so  eager  to  forgive  that  it  tarries  not  for  actual 
confession,  but  anticipates  it,  as  the  father  interrupts 
the  prodigal’s  acknowledgment  with  gifts  and  welcome. 


xxxii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


307 


The  Selah  at  the  end  of  ver.  5  is  as  triumphant  as 
that  at  the  close  of  ver.  4  had  been  sad.  It  parts  the 
autobiographical  section  from  the  more  general  one 
which  follows. 

In  the  second  part  the  solitary  soul  translates  its 
experience  into  exhortations  for  all,  and  woos  men  to 
follow  on  the  same  path,  by  setting  forth  in  rich  variety 
the  joys  of  pardon.  The  exhortation  first  dwells  on 
the  positive  blessings  associated  with  penitence  (vv. 
6,  7),  and  next  on  the  degradation  and  sorrow  involved 
in  obstinate  hard-heartedness  (vv.  8-10).  The  natural 
impulse  of  him  who  has  known  both  is  to  beseech  others 
to  share  his  happy  experience,  and  the  psalmist’s  course 
of  thought  obeys  that  impulse,  for  the  future  “  shall 
pray  ”  (R. V.)  is  better  regarded  as  hortatory  “  let  .  .  . 
pray.”  “  Because  of  this”  does  not  express  the  contents 
of  the  petitions,  but  their  reason.  The  manifestation 
of  God  as  infinitely  ready  to  forgive  should  hearten  to 
prayer  ;  and,  since  God’s  beloved  need  forgiveness  day 
by  day,  even  though  they  may  not  have  fallen  into  such 
gross  sin  as  this  psalmist,  there  is  no  incongruity  in  the 
exhortation  being  addressed  to  them.  “  He  that  is 
washed  ”  still  needs  that  feet  fouled  in  muddy  ways 
should  be  cleansed.  Every  time  of  seeking  by  such 
prayer  is  a  “  time  of  finding  ”  ;  but  the  phrase  implies 
that  there  is  a  time  of  not  finding,  and,  in  its  very 
graciousness,  is  heavy  with  warning  against  delay. 
With  forgiveness  comes  security.  The  penitent,  pray¬ 
ing,  pardoned  man  is  set  as  on  a  rock  islet  in  the 
midst  of  floods,  whether  these  be  conceived  of  as 
temptation  to  sin  or  as  calamities.  The  hortatory 
tone  is  broken  in  ver.  7  by  the  recurrence  of  the 
personal  element,  since  the  singer’s  heart  was  too  full 
for  silence  ;  but  there  is  no  real  interruption,  for  the 


308 


THE  PSALMS. 


joyous  utterance  of  one’s  own  faith  is  often  the  most 
winning  persuasive,  and  a  devout  man  can  scarcely  hold 
out  to  others  the  sweetness  of  finding  God  without 
at  the  same  time  tasting  what  he  offers.  Unless  he 
does,  his  words  will  ring  unreal.  “  Thou  art  a  shelter 
for  me  ”  (same  word  as  in  xxvii.  5,  xxxi.  20),  is  the 
utterance  of  trust ;  and  the  emphasis  is  on  “  my.”  To 
hide  in  God  is  to  be  “preserved  from  trouble,”  not  in 
the  sense  of  being  exempt,  but  in  that  of  not  being  over¬ 
whelmed,  as  the  beautiful  last  clause  of  v.  7  shows,  in 
which  “  shouts  of  deliverance  ”  from  trouble  which  had 
pressed  are  represented  by  a  bold,  but  not  harsh,  meta¬ 
phor  as  ringing  the  psalmist  round.  The  air  is  filled 
with  jubilant  voices,  the  echoes  of  his  own.  The  word 
rendered  “  songs  ”  or  preferably  “  shouts  ”  is  unusual, 
and  its  consonants  repeat  the  last  three  of  the  preceding 
word(“shalt  preserve  me”).  These  peculiarities  have 
led  to  the  suggestion  that  we  have  in  it  a  “  dittograph.” 
If  so,  the  remaining  words  of  the  last  clause  would 
read,  “Thou  wilt  compass  me  about  with  deliverance,” 
which  would  be  a  perfectly  appropriate  expression. 
But  probably  the  similarity  of  letters  is  a  play  upon 
words,  of  which  we  have  another  example  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding  clause  where  the  consonants  of  the  word  for 
“  trouble,”  reappear  in  their  order  in  the  verb  “  wilt 
preserve.”  The  shout  of  joy  is  caught  up  by  the  Selah. 

But  now  the  tone  changes  into  solemn  warning 
against  obstinate  disregard  of  God’s  leading.  It  is 
usual  to  suppose  that  the  psalmist  still  speaks,  but 
surely  “  I  will  counsel  thee,  with  mine  eye  upon  thee,” 
does  not  fit  human  lips.  It  is  to  be  observed,  too,  that 
in  ver.  8  a  single  person  is  addressed,  who  is  most 
naturally  taken  to  be  the  same  as  he  who  spoke  his 
individual  faith  in  ver.  7.  In  other  words,  the  psalmist’s 


xxxii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


309 


confidence  evokes  a  Divine  response,  and  that  brief 
interchange  of  clinging  trust  and  answering  promise 
stands  in  the  midst  of  the  appeal  to  men,  which  it 
scarcely  interrupts.  Ver.  9  may  either  be  regarded  as 
the  continuance  of  the  Divine  voice,  or  perhaps  better, 
as  the  resumption  by  the  psalmist  of  his  hortatory 
address.  God’s  direction  as  to  duty  and  protection  in 
peril  are  both  included  in  the  promise  of  ver.  8.  With 
His  eye  upon  His  servant,  He  will  show  him  the  way, 
and  will  keep  him  ever  in  sight  as  he  travels  on  it. 
The  beautiful  meaning  of  the  A.V.,  that  God  guides 
with  a  glance  those  who  dwell  near  enough  to  Him  to 
see  His  look,  is  scarcely  contained  in  the  words,  though 
it  is  true  that  the  sense  of  pardon  binds  men  to  Him 
in  such  sweet  bonds  that  they  are  eager  to  catch  the 
faintest  indications  of  His  will,  and  “  His  looks  com¬ 
mand,  His  lightest  words  are  spells.” 

Vv.  9,  10,  are  a  warning  against  brutish  obstinacy. 
The  former  verse  has  difficulties  in  detail,  but  its  drift 
is  plain.  It  contrasts  the  gracious  guidance  which  avails 
for  those  made  docile  by  forgiveness  and  trust  with 
the  harsh  constraint  which  must  curb  and  coerce  mulish 
natures.  The  only  things  which  such  understand  are 
bits  and  bridles.  They  will  not  come  near  to  God 
without  such  rough  outward  constraint,  any  more  than 
an  unbroken  horse  will  approach  a  man  unless  dragged 
by  a  halter.  That  untamableness  except  by  force  is 
the  reason  why  “  many  sorrows  ”  must  strike  “  the 
wicked.”  If  these  are  here  compared  to  “bit”  and 
"  bridle,”  they  are  meant  to  drive  to  God,  and  are  there¬ 
fore  regarded  as  being  such  mercies  as  the  obstinate  are 
capable  of  receiving.  Obedience  extorted  by  force  is 
no  obedience,  but  approach  to  God  compelled  by  sorrow’s 
that  restrain  unbridled  licence  cf  tempers  and  of  sense 


3io 


THE  PSALMS. 


is  accepted  as  a  real  approach  and  then  is  purged  into 
access  with  confidence.  They  who  are  at  first  driven 
are  afterwards  drawn,  and  taught  to  know  no  delight  so 
great  as  that  of  coming  and  keeping  near  God. 

The  antithesis  of  “wicked  ”  and  “  he  that  trusteth  in 
Jehovah  ”  is  significant  as  teaching  that  faith  is  the 
true  opposite  of  sinfulness.  Not  less  full  of  meaning 
is  the  sequence  of  trust,  righteousness,  and  uprightness 
of  heart  in  vv.  io,  n.  Faith  leads  to  righteousness, 
and  they  are  upright,  not  who  have  never  fallen,  but 
who  have  been  raised  from  their  fall  by  pardon.  The 
psalmist  had  thought  of  himself  as  compassed  with 
shouts  of  deliverance.  Another  circle  is  cast  round  him 
and  all  who,  with  him,  trust  Jehovah.  A  ring  of  mercies, 
like  a  fiery  wall,  surrounds  the  pardoned,  faithful  soul, 
without  a  break  through  which  a  real  evil  can  creep. 
Therefore  the  encompassing  songs  of  deliverance  are 
continuous  as  the  mercies  which  they  hymn,  and  in 
the  centre  of  that  double  circle  the  soul  sits  secure 
and  thankful. 

The  psalm  ends  with  a  joyful  summons  to  general 
joy.  All  share  in  the  solitary  soul's  exultation.  The 
depth  of  penitence  measures  the  height  of  gladness. 
The  breath  that  was  spent  in  “  roaring  all  the  day  long  " 
is  used  for  shouts  of  deliverance.  Every  tear  sparkles 
like  a  diamond  in  the  sunshine  of  pardon,  and  he  who 
begins  with  the  lowly  cry  for  forgiveness  will  end  with 
lofty  songs  of  joy  and  be  made,  by  God's  guidance  and 
Spirit,  righteous  and  upright  in  heart. 


PSALM  XXXIII. 


1  Rejoice  aloud,  ye  righteous,  in  Jehovah, 

For  the  upright  praise  is  seemly. 

2  Give  thartfcs  to  Jehovah  with  harp  ; 

With  ten-stringed  psaltery  play  unto  Him. 

3  Sing  to  Him  a  new  song, 

Strike  well  [the  strings]  with  joyful  shouts. 

4  For  upright  is  the  word  of  Jehovah, 

And  all  His  work  is  in  faithfulness. 

5  He  loves  righteousness  and  judgment, 

Of  Jehovah’s  loving-kindness  the  earth  is  full. 

6  By  the  word  of  Jehovah  the  heavens  were  made, 

And  all  their  host  by  the  breath  of  His  mouth. 

7  Who  gathereth  as  an  heap  the  waters  of  the  sea, 

Who  layeth  up  the  deeps  in  storehouses. 

8  Let  all  the  earth  fear  Jehovah, 

Before  Him  let  all  inhabitants  of  the  world  stand  in  awe, 

9  For  He,  He  spoke  and  it  was; 

He,  He  commanded  and  it  stood. 

10  Jehovah  has  brought  to  nothing  the  counsel  of  the  nations, 
He  has  frustrated  the  designs  of  the  peoples. 

11  The  counsel  of  Jehovah  shall  stand  for  ever, 

The  designs  of  His  heart  to  generation  after  generation. 

12  Blessed  is  the  nation  whose  God  is  Jehovah, 

The  people  He  has  chosen  for  an  inheritance  for  Himself, 

13  From  heaven  Jehovah  looks  down, 

He  beholds  all  the  sons  of  men. 

14  From  the  place  where  He  sits,  He  gazes 
On  all  the  inhabitants  of  earth  : — 

15  Even  He  who  forms  the  hearts  of  them  all, 

Who  marks  all  their  works. 

16  A  king  is  not  saved  by  the  greatness  of  [his]  army, 

A  hero  is  not  delivered  by  the  greatness  of  [his]  strength. 

311 


312 


THE  PSALMS. 


17  A  horse  is  a  vain  thing  for  safety ; 

And  by  the  greatness  of  its  strength  it  does  not  give  escape. 

18  Behold  the  eye  of  Jehovah  is  on  them  who  fear  Him, 

On  them  who  hope  for  His  loving-kindness, 

19  To  deliver  their  soul  from  death, 

And  to  keep  them  alive  in  famine. 

20  Our  soul  waits  for  Jehovah, 

Our  help  and  our  shield  is  He. 

21  For  in  Him  shall  our  heart  rejoice, 

For  in  His  holy  name  have  we  trusted. 

22  Let  Thy  loving-kindness,  Jehovah,  be  upon  us, 

According  as  we  have  hoped  for  Thee. 

THIS  is  the  last  of  the  four  psalms  in  Book  I.  which 
have  no  title,  the  others  being  Psalms  i,,  ii.,  which 
are  introductory,  and  x.  which  is  closely  connected  with 
ix.  Some  have  endeavoured  to  establish  a  similar  con¬ 
nection  between  xxxii.  and  xxxiii.;  but,  while  the  closing 
summons  to  the  righteous  in  the  former  is  substantially 
repeated  in  the  opening  words  of  the  latter,  there  is 
little  other  trace  of  connection,  except  the  references 
in  both  to  u  the  eye  ”  of  Jehovah  ”  (xxxii.  8,  xxxiii. 
18)  ;  and  no  two  psalms  could  be  more  different  in 
subject  and  tone  than  these.  The  one  is  full  of  pro¬ 
found,  personal  emotion,  and  deals  with  the  depths  of 
experience ;  the  other  is  devoid  of  personal  reference, 
and  is  a  devout,  calm  contemplation  of  the  creative 
power  and  providential  government  of  God.  It  is 
kindred  with  the  later  type  of  psalms,  and  has  many 
verbal  allusions  connecting  it  with  them.  It  has  pro¬ 
bably  been  placed  here  simply  because  of  the  simi¬ 
larity  just  noticed  between  its  beginning  and  the  end 
of  the  preceding.  The  reasons  for  the  arrangement  of 
the  psalter  were,  so  far  as  they  can  be  traced,  usually 
such  merely  verbal  coincidences.  To  one  who  has 
been  travelling  through  the  heights  and  depths,  the 
storms  and  sunny  gleams  of  the  previous  psalms,  this 


xxxiii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


313 


impersonal  didactic  meditation,  with  its  historical 
allusions  and  entire  ignoring  of  sins  and  sorrows, 
is  indeed  “a  new  song.”  It  is  apparently  meant  for 
liturgical  use,  and  falls  into  three  unequal  parts  ;  the 
first  three  verses  and  the  last  three  being  prelude  and 
conclusion,  the  former  summoning  the  “  righteous  ”  to 
praise  Jehovah,  the  latter  putting  words  of  trust  and 
triumph  and  prayer  into  their  mouths.  The  central 
mass  (vv.  4-19)  celebrates  the  creative  and  providential 
work  of  God,  in  two  parts,  of  which  the  first  extends 
these  Divine  acts  over  the  world  (vv.  4-1 1)  and  the 
second  concentrates  them  on  Israel  (vv.  12-19). 

The  opening  summons  to  praise  takes  us  far  away 
from  the  solitary  wrestlings  and  communings  in  former 
psalms.  Now 

“The  singers  lift  up  their  voice, 

And  the  trumpets  make  endeavour, 

Sounding,  ‘  In  God  rejoice  ! 

In  Him  rejoice  for  ever  1  ’  ” 

But  the  clear  recognition  of  purity  as  the  condition  of 
access  to  God  speaks  in  this  invocation  as  distinctly  as 
in  any  of  the  preceding.  “The  righteous”  whose  lives 
conform  to  the  Divine  will,  and  only  they  can  shout 
aloud  their  joy  in  Jehovah.  Praise  fits  and  adorns  the 
lips  of  the  “  upright  ”  only,  whose  spirits  are  without 
twist  of  self-will  and  sin.  The  direction  of  character 
expressed  in  the  word  is  horizontal  rather  than  vertical, 
and  is  better  represented  by  “  straight  ”  than  “  upright.” 
Praise  gilds  the  gold  of  purity  and  adds  grace  even  to 
the  beauty  of  holiness.  Experts  tell  us  that  the  kinnor 
(harp,  A.V.  and  R.V.)  and  nebel  (psaltery)  were  both 
stringed  instruments,  differing  in  the  position  of  the 
sounding  board,  which  was  below  in  the  former  and 
above  in  the  latter,  and  also  in  the  covering  of  the 


3M 


THE  PSALMS. 


strings  (v.  Delitzsch,  Eng.  transl.  of  latest  ed.,  I.  7,  n.). 
The  “new  song”  is  not  necessarily  the  psalm  itself, 
but  may  mean  other  thanksgivings  evoked  by  God’s 
meditated-on  goodness.  But,  in  any  case,  it  is  note¬ 
worthy  that  the  occasions  of  the  new  song  are  very  old 
acts,  stretching  back  to  the  first  creation  and  continued 
down  through  the  ages.  The  psalm  has  no  trace  of 
special  recent  mercies,  but  to  the  devout  soul  the  old 
deeds  are  never  antiquated,  and  each  new  meditation 
on  them  breaks  into  new  praise.  So  inexhaustible  is 
the  theme  that  all  generations  take  it  up  in  turn,  and 
find  “  songs  unheard  ”  and  “  sweeter  ”  with  which  to 
celebrate  it.  Each  new  rising  of  the  old  sun  brings 
music  from  the  lips  of  Memnon,  as  he  sits  fronting  the 
east.  The  facts  of  revelation  must  be  sung  by  each 
age  and  soul  for  itself,  and  the  glowing  strains  grow 
cold  and  archaic,  while  the  ancient  mercies  which  they 
magnify  live  on  bright  and  young.  There  is  always 
room  for  a  fresh  voice  to  praise  the  old  gospel,  the  old 
creation,  the  old  providence. 

This  new  song  is  saturated  with  reminiscences  of  old 
ones,  and  deals  with  familiar  thoughts  which  have 
come  to  the  psalmist  with  fresh  power.  He  magnifies 
the  moral  attributes  manifested  in  God’s  self-revelation, 
His  creative  Word,  and  His  providential  government. 
“  The  word  of  Jehovah,”  in  ver.  4,  is  to  be  taken  in 
the  wide  sense  of  every  utterance  of  His  thought  or 
will  (“  non  accipi  pro  doctrina,  sed  pro  mundi  gubernandi 
ratione,”  Calvin).  It  underlies  His  “  works,”  as  is  more 
largely  declared  in  the  following  verses.  It  is  “  up¬ 
right,”  the  same  word  as  in  ver.  I,  and  here  equivalent 
to  the  general  idea  of  morally  perfect.  The  acts  which 
flow  from  it  are  “in  faithfulness,”  correspond  to  and 
keep  His  word.  The  perfect  word  and  works  have  for 


xxxiii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


315 


source  the  deep  heart  of  Jehovah,  which  loves  “  right¬ 
eousness  and  judgment/'  and  therefore  speaks  and  acts 
in  accordance  with  these.  Therefore  the  outcome  of 
all  is  a  world  full  of  God’s  loving-kindness.  The 
psalmist  has  won  that  “  serene  and  blessed  mood  "  in 
which  the  problem  of  life  seems  easy,  and  all  harsh  and 
gloomy  thoughts  have  melted  out  of  the  sky.  There  is 
but  one  omnipotent  Will  at  work  everywhere,  and  that 
is  a  Will  wdiose  law  for  itself  is  the  love  of  righteous¬ 
ness  and  truth.  The  majestic  simplicity  and  universality 
of  the  cause  are  answered  by  the  simplicity  and 
universality  of  the  result,  the  flooding  of  the  whole 
world  with  blessing.  Many  another  psalm  shows  how 
hard  it  is  to  maintain  such  a  faith  in  the  face  of  the 
terrible  miseries  of  men,  and  the  more  complex  “  civili¬ 
sation  ”  becomes,  the  harder  it  grows ;  but  it  is  well  to 
hear  sometimes  the  one  clear  note  of  gladness  without 
its  chord  of  melancholy. 

The  work  of  creation  is  set  forth  in  vv.  6-9,  as  the 
effect  of  the  Divine  word  alone.  The  psalmist  is  fas¬ 
cinated  not  by  the  glories  created,  but  by  the  wonder 
of  the  process  of  creation.  The  Divine  will  uttered 
itself,  and  the  universe  was.  Of  course  the  thought  is 
parallel  with  that  of  Genesis,  il  God  said,  Let  there  be 
.  .  .  and  there  was  ...”  Nor  are  we  to  antedate  the 
Christian  teaching  of  a  personal  Word  of  God,  the  agent 
of  creation.  The  old  versions  and  interpreters,  followed 
by  Cheyne,  read  **  as  in  a  bottle  ”  for  “  as  an  heap,” 
vocalising  the  text  differently  from  the  present  pointing  ; 
but  there  seems  to  be  an  allusion  to  the  wall  of  waters 
at  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea,  the  same  word  being 
used  in  Miriam’s  song  ;  with  “  depths  ”  in  the  next  clause, 
there  as  here  (Exod.  xv.  8).  What  is  meant,  how¬ 
ever,  here,  is  the  separation  of  land  and  water  at  first, 


3 16 


THE  PSALMS. 


and  possibly  the  continuance  of  the  same  power  keeping 
them  still  apart,  since  the  verbs  in  ver.  7  are  participles, 
which  imply  continued  action.  The  image  of  “an 
heap  ”  is  probably  due  to  the  same  optical  delusion 
which  has  coined  the  expression  “  the  high  seas,”  since, 
to  an  eye  looking  seawards  from  the  beach,  the  level 
waters  seem  to  rise  as  they  recede  ;  or  it  may  merely 
express  the  gathering  together  in  a  mass.  Away  out 
there,  in  that  ocean  of  which  the  Hebrews  knew  so 
little,  were  unplumbed  depths  in  which,  as  in  vast 
storehouses,  the  abundance  of  the  sea  was  shut  up,  and 
the  ever-present  Word  which  made  them  at  first  was 
to  them  instead  of  bolts  and  bars.  Possibly  the  thought 
of  the  storehouses  suggested  that  of  the  Flood  when 
these  were  opened,  and  that  thought,  crossing  the 
psalmist’s  mind,  led  to  the  exhortation  in  ver.  8  to  fear 
Jehovah,  which  would  more  naturally  have  followed 
ver.  9.  The  power  displayed  in  creation  is,  however, 
a  sufficient  ground  for  the  summons  to  reverent 
obedience,  and  ver.  9  may  be  but  an  emphatic  repe¬ 
tition  of  the  substance  of  the  foregoing  description.  It 
is  eloquent  in  its  brevity  and  juxtaposition  of  the 
creative  word  and  the  created  world.  “  It  stood,” — “  the 
word  includes  much  :  first,  the  coming  into  being  ( Ent - 
stehen ),  then,  the  continued  subsistence  ( Bestehen ),  lastly, 
attendance  (. Dastehen )  in  readiness  for  service  ”  (Stier). 

From  the  original  creation  the  psalmist’s  mind  runs 
over  the  ages  between  it  and  him,  and  sees  the  same 
mystical  might  of  the  Divine  Will  working  in  what 
we  call  providential  government.  God’s  bare  word  has 
power  without  material  means.  Nay,  His  very  thoughts 
unspoken  are  endowed  with  immortal  vigour,  and  are 
at  bottom  the  only  real  powers  in  history.  God’s 
“  thoughts  stand,”  as  creation  does,  lasting  on  through 


xxxiii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


3*7 


all  men’s  fleeting  years.  With  reverent  boldness  the 
psalm  parallels  the  processes  (if  we  may  so  speak)  of 
the  Divine  mind  with  those  of  the  human ;  “  counsel  ” 
and  “ thoughts”  being  attributed  to  both.  But  how 
different  the  issue  of  the  solemn  thoughts  of  God  and 
those  of  men,  in  so  far  as  they  are  not  in  accordance 
with  His  !  It  unduly  narrows  the  sweep  of  the  psalmist’s 
vision  to  suppose  that  he  is  speaking  of  a  recent  expe¬ 
rience  when  some  assault  on  Israel  was  repelled.  He 
is  much  rather  linking  the  hour  of  creation  with  to-day 
by  one  swift  summary  of  the  net  result  of  all  history. 
The  only  stable,  permanent  reality  is  the  will  of  God, 
and  it  imparts  derived  stability  to  those  who  ally  them¬ 
selves  with  it,  yielding  to  its  counsels  and  moulding 
their  thoughts  by  its.  "  He  that  doeth  the  will  of  God 
abideth  for  ever,”  but  the  shore  of  time  is  littered  with 
wreckage,  the  sad  fragments  of  proud  fleets  which 
would  sail  in  the  teeth  of  the  wind  and  went  to  pieces 
on  the  rocks. 

From  such  thoughts  the  transition  to  the  second  part 
of  the  main  body  of  the  psalm  is  natural.  Vv.  12-19 
are  a  joyous  celebration  of  the  blessedness  of  Israel  as 
the  people  of  so  great  a  God.  The  most  striking 
feature  of  these  verses  is  the  pervading  reference  to 
the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  which,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  has  coloured  ver.  7.  From  Miriam’s  song  come 
the  designation  of  the  people  as  God’s  “  inheritance,” 
and  the  phrase  “  the  place  of  His  habitation  ”  (Exod. 
xv.  17).  The  “  looking  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth,”  and  the  thought  that  the  “eye  of  Jehovah  is 
upon  them  that  fear  Him,  to  deliver  their  soul  in  death  ” 
(vv.  14,  18),  remind  us  of  the  Lord’s  looking  from  the 
pillar  on  the  host  of  Egyptians  and  the  terrified  crowd 
of  fugitives,  and  of  the  same  glance  being  darkness  to  the 


THE  PSALMS. 


318 

one  and  light  to  the  other.  The  abrupt  introduction 
of  the  king  not  saved  by  his  host,  and  of  the  vanity  of 
the  horse  for  safety,  are  explained  if  we  catch  an  echo 
of  Miriam’s  ringing  notes,  “  Pharaoh’s  chariots  and  his 
host  hath  He  cast  into  the  sea.  .  .  .  The  horse  and  his 
rider  hath  He  thrown  into  the  sea”  (Exod.  xv.  4,  21). 

If  this  historical  allusion  be  not  recognised,  the  con¬ 
nection  of  these  verses  is  somewhat  obscure,  but  still 
discernible.  The  people  who  stand  in  special  relation 
to  God  are  blessed,  because  that  eye,  which  sees  all 
men,  rests  on  them  in  loving-kindness  and  with  gracious 
purpose  of  special  protection.  This  contrast  of  God’s 
universal  knowledge  and  of  that  knowledge  which  is 
accompanied  with  loving  care  is  the  very  nerve  of  these 
verses,  as  is  shown  by  the  otherwise  aimless  repetition 
of  the  thought  of  God’s  looking  down  on  men.  There 
is  a  wide  all-seeingness,  characterised  by  three  words 
in  an  ascending  scale  of  closeness  of  observance,  in 
vv.  13,  14.  It  is  possible  to  God  as  being  Creator: 
u  He  fashions  their  hearts  individually,”  or  u  one  by 
one,”  seems  the  best  interpretation  of  ver.  15  a,  and 
thence  is  deduced  His  intimate  knowledge  of  all  His 
creatures’  doings.  The  sudden  turn  to  the  impotence  of 
earthly  might,  as  illustrated  by  the  king  and  the  hero 
and  the  battle-horse,  may  be  taken  as  intended  to 
contrast  the  weakness  of  such  strength  both  with  the 
preceding  picture  of  Divine  omniscience  and  almighti- 
ness,  and  with  the  succeeding  assurance  of  safety  in 
Jehovah.  The  true  reason  for  the  blessedness  of  the 
chosen  people  is  that  God’s  eye  is  on  them,  not  merely 
with  cold  omniscience  nor  with  critical  considering  of 
their  works,  but  with  the  direct  purpose  of  sheltering 
them  from  surrounding  evil.  But  the  stress  of  the 
characterisation  of  these  guarded  and  nourished 


xxxiii.] 


THE  PSALMS . 


319 


favourites  of  heaven  is  now  laid  not  upon  a  Divine  act 
of  choice,  but  upon  their  meek  looking  to  Him.  His 
eye  meets  with  love  the  upturned  patient  eye  of  humble 
expectance  and  loving  fear. 

What  should  be  the  issue  of  such  thoughts,  but  the 
glad  profession  of  trust,  with  which  the  psalm  fittingly 
ends,  corresponding  to  the  invocation  to  praise  which 
began  it  ?  Once  in  each  of  these  three  closing  verses 
do  the  speakers  profess  their  dependence  on  God.  The 
attitude  of  waiting  with  fixed  hope  and  patient  sub¬ 
mission  is  the  characteristic  of  God’s  true  servants  in 
all  ages.  In  it  are  blended  consciousness  of  weakness 
and  vulnerability,  dread  of  assault,  reliance  on  Divine 
Love,  confidence  of  safety,  patience,  submission  and 
strong  aspiration. 

These  were  the  tribal  marks  of  God’s  people,  when 
this  was  “  a  new  song  ” ;  they  are  so  to-day,  for, 
though  the  Name  of  the  Lord  be  more  fully  known  by 
Christ,  the  trust  in  it  is  the  same.  A  threefold  good 
is  possessed,  expected  and  asked  as  the  issue  of  this 
waiting.  God  is  “  help  and  shield  ”  to  those  who 
exercise  it.  Its  sure  fruit  is  joy  in  Him,  since  He  will 
answer  the  expectance  of  His  people,  and  will  make 
His  name  more  fully  known  and  more  sweet  to  those 
who  have  clung  to  it,  in  so  far  as  they  knew  it.  The 
measure  of  hope  in  God  is  the  measure  of  experience 
of  His  loving-kindness,  and  the  closing  prayer  does 
not  allege  hope  as  meriting  the  answer  which  it  expects, 
but  recognises  that  desire  is  a  condition  of  possession 
of  God’s  best  gifts,  and  knows  it  to  be  most  impossible 
of  all  impossibilities  that  hope  fixed  on  God  should 
be  ashamed.  Hands,  lifted  empty  to  heaven  in  longing 
trust,  will  never  drop  empty  back  and  hang  listless, 
without  a  blessing  in  their  grasp. 


PSALM  XXXIV. 


1  (X)  I  will  bless  Jehovah  at  all  times, 

Continually  shall  His  praise  be  in  my  mouth. 

2  (3)  In  Jehovah  my  soul  shall  boast  herself, 

The  humble  shall  hear  and  rejoice. 

3  (3)  Magnify  Jehovah  with  me, 

And  let  us  exalt  His  name  together. 

4  (T)  I  sought  Jehovah  and  He  answered  me, 

And  from  all  my  terrors  did  He  deliver  me. 

5  (H)  They  looked  to  Him  and  were  brightened, 

(1)  And  their  faces  did  not  blush. 

6  (T)  This  afflicted  man  cried  and  Jehovah  heard, 

And  from  all  his  distresses  saved  him. 

7  (n)  The  angel  of  Jehovah  encamps  round  them  that  fear  Him, 
And  delivers  them. 

8  (ID)  Taste  and  see  that  Jehovah  is  good  ; 

Happy  the  man  that  takes  refuge  in  Him. 

9  (')  Fear  Jehovah,  ye  His  holy  ones  ; 

For  there  is  no  want  to  them  that  fear  Him. 

10  (D)  Young  lions  famish  and  starve, 

But  they  that  seek  Jehovah  shall  not  want  any  good. 

1 1  (^)  Come  [my]  sons,  hearken  to  me ; 

I  will  teach  you  the  fear  of  Jehovah. 

12  (E)  Who  is  the  man  who  desires  life, 

Who  loves  [many]  days,  in  order  to  see  good  ? 

13  (3)  Keep  thy  tongue  from  evil, 

And  thy  lips  from  speaking  deceit. 

14  (D)  Depart  from  evil  and  do  good  ; 

Seek  peace  and  pursue  it. 

15  (V)  The  eyes  of  Jehovah  are  toward  the  righteous, 

And  His  ears  are  towards  their  loud  cry. 

16  (Q)  The  face  of  Jehovah  is  against  the  doers  of  evil 
To  cut  off  their  remembrance  from  the  earth. 

320 


xxxiv.] 


THE  PSALMS . 


32? 


1/  (V)  The  righteous  cry  and  Jehovah  hears; 

And  from  all  their  straits  He  rescues  them. 

18  (p)  Jehovah  is  near  to  the  broken  in  heart, 

And  the  crushed  in  spirit  He  saves. 

19  ("1)  Many  are  the  afflictions  of  the  righteous; 

But  from  them  all  Jehovah  delivers  him. 

20  ({£>)  He  keeps  all  his  bones, 

Not  one  of  them  is  broken. 

21  (J1)  Evil  shall  slay  the  wicked  ; 

And  the  haters  of  the  righteous  shall  be  held  guilty 

22  (2)  Jehovah  redeems  the  soul  of  His  servants  ; 

And  not  held  guilty  shall  any  be  who  take  refuge  in  Him. 

THE  occasion  of  this  psalm,  according  to  the  super¬ 
scription,  was  that  humiliating  and  questionable 
episode,  when  David  pretended  insanity  to  save  his 
life  from  the  ruler  of  Goliath’s  city  of  Gath.  The 
set  of  critical  opinion  sweeps  away  this  tradition  as 
unworthy  of  serious  refutation.  The  psalm  is  acrostic, 
therefore  of  late  date ;  there  are  no  references  to  the 
supposed  occasion  ;  the  careless  scribe  has  blundered 
“ blindly”  (Hupfeld)  in  the  king’s  name,  mixing  up 
the  stories  about  Abraham  and  Isaac  in  Genesis  with 
the  legend  about  David  at  Gath  ;  the  didactic,  gnomical 
cast  of  the  psalm  speaks  of  a  late  age.  But  the 
assumption  that  acrostic  structure  is  necessarily  a  mark 
of  late  date  is  not  by  any  means  self-evident,  and  needs 
more  proof  than  is  forthcoming  ;  the  absence  of  plain 
allusions  to  the  singer’s  circumstances  cuts  both  ways, 
and  suggests  the  question,  how  the  attribution  to  the 
period  stated  arose,  since  there  is  nothing  in  the  psalm 
to  suggest  it ;  the  blunder  of  the  king’s  name  is  perhaps 
not  a  blunder  after  all,  but,  as  the  Genesis  passages 
seem  to  imply,  "  Abimelech  (the  father  of  the  King) 
may  be  a  title,  like  Pharaoh,  common  to  Philistine 
"  kings,”  and  Achish  may  have  been  the  name  of  the 
reigning  Abimelech ;  the  proverbial  style  and  somewhat 

21 


322 


THE  PSALMS. 


slight  connection  and  progress  of  thought  are  necessary 
results  of  acrostic  fetters.  If  the  psalm  be  David's,  the 
contrast  between  the  degrading  expedient  which  saved 
him  and  the  exalted  sentiments  here  is  remarkable,  but 
not  incredible.  The  seeming  idiot  scrabbling  on  the 
gate  is  now  saint,  poet,  and  preacher ;  and,  looking 
back  on  the  deliverance  won  by  a  trick,  he  thinks  of  it 
as  an  instance  of  Jehovah’s  answer  to  prayer !  It  is  a 
strange  psychological  study ;  and  yet,  keeping  in  view 
the  then  existing  standard  of  morality  as  to  stratagems 
in  warfare,  and  the  wonderful  power  that  even  good 
men  have  of  ignoring  flaws  in  their  faith  and  faults  in 
their  conduct,  we  may  venture  to  suppose  that  the 
event  which  evoked  this  song  of  thanksgiving  and  is 
transfigured  in  ver.  4  is  the  escape  by  craft  from 
Achish.  To  David  his  feigning  madness  did  not  seem 
inconsistent  with  trust  and  prayer. 

Whatever  be  the  occasion  of  the  psalm,  its  course 
of  thought  is  obvious.  There  is  first  a  vow  of  praise 
in  which  others  are  summoned  to  unite  (vv.  1-3)  ;  then 
follows  a  section  in  which  personal  experience  and 
invocation  to  others  are  similarly  blended  (vv.  4-10); 
and  finally  a  purely  didactic  section,  analysing  the 
practical  manifestations  of  u  the  fear  of  the  Lord  ”  and 
enforcing  it  by  the  familiar  contrast  of  the  blessedness 
of  the  righteous  and  the  miserable  fate  of  the  ungodly. 
Throughout  we  find  familiar  turns  of  thought  and 
expression,  such  as  are  usual  in  acrostic  psalms. 

The  glad  vow  of  unbroken  praise  and  undivided 
trust,  which  begins  the  psalm,  sounds  like  the  welling 
over  of  a  heart  for  recent  mercy.  It  seems  easy  and 
natural  while  the  glow  of  fresh  blessings  is  felt,  to 
u  rejoice  in  the  Lord  always,  and  again  to  say  Rejoice. ” 
Thankfulness  which  looks  forward  to  its  own  cessation, 


xxxiv.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


323 


and  takes  into  account  the  distractions  of  circumstance 
and  changes  of  mood  which  will  surely  come,  is  too 
foreseeing.  Whether  the  vow  be  kept  or  no,  it  is  well 
that  it  should  be  made  ;  still  better  is  it  that  it  should 
be  kept,  as  it  may  be,  even  amid  distracting  circum¬ 
stances  and  changing  moods.  The  incense  on  the  altar 
did  not  flame  throughout  the  day,  but,  being  fanned 
into  a  glow  at  morning  and  evening  sacrifice,  it 
smouldered  with  a  thread  of  fragrant  smoke  continually. 
It  is  not  only  the  exigencies  of  the  acrostic  which 
determine  the  order  in  ver.  2  :  “  In  Jehovah  shall  my 

soul  boast,” — in  Him ,  and  not  in  self  or  worldly  ground, 
of  trust  and  glorying.  The  ideal  of  the  devout  life, 
which  in  moments  of  exaltation  seems  capable  of 
realisation,  as  in  clear  weather  Alpine  summits  look 
near  enough  to  be  reached  in  an  hour,  is  unbroken 
praise  and  undivided  reliance  on  and  joy  in  Jehovah. 
But  alas — how  far  above  us  the  peaks  are !  Still  to 
see  them  ennobles,  and  to  strive  to  reach  them  secures 
an  upward  course. 

The  solitary  heart  hungers  for  sympathy  in  its  joy, 
as  in  its  sorrow ;  but  knows  full  well  that  such  can 
only  be  given  by  those  who  have  known  like  bitterness 
and  have  learned  submission  in  the  same  way.  We 
must  be  purged  of  self  in  order  to  be  glad  in  another’s 
deliverance,  and  must  be  pupils  in  the  same  school  in 
order  to  be  entitled  to  take  his  experience  as  our 
encouragement,  and  to  make  a  chorus  to  his  solo  of 
thanksgiving.  The  invocation  is  so  natural  an  expres¬ 
sion  of  the  instinctive  desire  for  companionship  in 
praise  that  one  needs  not  to  look  for  any  particular 
group  to  whom  it  is  addressed ;  but  if  the  psalm  be 
David’s,  the  call  is  not  inappropriate  in  the  mouth  of 
the  leader  of  his  band  of  devoted  followers. 


324 


THE  PSALMS. 


The  second  section  of  the  psalm  (vv.  4-10)  is  at  first 
biographical,  and  then  generalises  personal  experience 
into  broad  universal  truth.  But  even  in  recounting 
what  befel  himself,  the  singer  will  not  eat  his  morsel 
alone,  but  is  glad  to  be  able  at  every  turn  to  feel  that 
he  has  companions  in  his  happy  experience.  Vv.  4,  5 
are  a  pair,  as  are  vv.  6,  7,  and  in  each  the  same  fact  is 
narrated  first  in  reference  to  the  single  soul,  and  then 
in  regard  to  all  the  servants  of  Jehovah.  “  This  poor 
man  ”  is  by  most  of  the  older  expositors  taken  to  be 
the  psalmist,  but  by  the  majority  of  moderns  supposed 
to  be  an  individualising  way  of  saying,  “poor  men.” 
The  former  explanation  seems  to  me  the  more  natural, 
as  preserving  the  parallelism  between  the  two  groups 
of  verses.  If  so,  the  close  correspondence  of  expression 
in  vv.  4  and  6  is  explained,  since  the  same  event  is 
subject  of  both.  In  both  is  the  psalmist’s  appeal,  to 
Jehovah  presented;  in  the  one  as  “seeking”  with 
anxious  eagerness,  and  in  the  other  as  “  crying  ”  with 
the  loud  call  of  one  in  urgent  need  of  immediate  rescue. 
In  both,  Divine  acceptance  follows  close  on  the  cry, 
and  in  both  immediately  ensues  succour.  “  He  de¬ 
livered  me  from  all  my  fears,”  and  “  saved  him  out  of 
all  his  troubles,”  correspond  entirely,  though  not 
verbally.  In  like  manner  vv.  5  and  7  are  alike  in 
extending  the  blessing  of  the  unit  so  as  to  embrace  the 
class.  The  absence  of  any  expressed  subject  of  the 
verb  in  ver.  5  makes  the  statement  more  comprehen¬ 
sive,  like  the  French  “ow,”  or  English  “they.”  To 
“  look  unto  Him  ”  is  the  same  thing  as  is  expressed  in 
the  individualising  verses  by  the  two  phrases,  “sought,” 
and  “cried  unto,”  only  the  metaphor  is  changed  into 
that  of  silent,  wistful  directing  of  beseeching  and  sad 
eyes  to  God.  And  its  issue  is  beautifully  told,  in  pur- 


xxxiv.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


325 


suance  of  the  metaphor.  Whoever  turns  his  face  to 
Jehovah  will  receive  reflected  brightness  on  his  face ; 
as  when  a  mirror  is  directed  sunwards,  the  dark 
surface  will  flash  into  sudden  glory.  Weary  eyes  will 
gleam.  Faces  turned  to  the  sun  are  sure  to  be 
radiant. 

The  hypothesis  of  the  Davidic  authorship  gives 
special  force  to  the  great  assurance  of  ver.  7.  The 
fugitive,  in  his  rude  shelter  in  the  cave  of  Adullam, 
thinks  of  Jacob,  who,  in  his  hour  of  defenceless  need, 
was  heartened  by  the  vision  of  the  angel  encampment 
surrounding  his  own  little  band,  and  named  the  place 
“  Mahanaim,”  the  two  camps.  That  fleeting  vision 
was  a  temporary  manifestation  of  abiding  reality. 
Wherever  there  is  a  camp  of  them  that  fear  God,  there 
is  another,  of  which  the  helmed  and  sworded  angel 
that  appeared  to  Joshua  is  Captain,  and  the  name  of 
every  such  place  is  Two  Camps.  That  is  the  sight 
which  brightens  the  eyes  that  look  to  God.  That 
mysterious  personality,  “  the  Angel  of  the  Lord/'  is 
only  mentioned  in  the  Psalter  here  and  in  Psalm  xxxv. 
In  other  places,  He  appears  as  the  agent  of  Divine 
communications,  and  especially  as  the  guide  and 
champion  of  Israel.  He  is  “  the  angel  of  God’s  face,” 
the  personal  revealer  of  His  presence  and  nature.  His 
functions  correspond  to  those  of  the  Word  in  John’s 
Gospel,  and  these,  conjoined  with  the  supremacy 
indicated  in  his  name,  suggest  that  “  the  Angel  of  the 
Lord  ”  is,  in  fact,  the  everlasting  Son  of  the  Father, 
through  whom  the  Christology  of  the  New  Testament 
teaches  that  all  Revelation  has  been  mediated.  The 
psalmist  did  not  know  the  full  force  of  the  name,  but 
he  believed  that  there  was  a  Person,  in  an  eminent  and 
singular  sense  God’s  messenger,  who  would  cast  his 


326 


THE  PSALMS. 


protection  round  the  devout,  and  bid  inferior  heavenly 
beings  draw  their  impregnable  ranks  about  them. 
Christians  can  tell  more  than  he  could,  of  the  Bearer  of 
the  name.  It  becomes  them  to  be  all  the  surer  of  His 
protection. 

Just  as  the  vow  of  ver.  I  passed  into  invocation, 
so  does  the  personal  experience  of  vv.  4-7  glide  into 
exhortation.  If  such  be  the  experience  of  poor  men, 
trusting  in  Jehovah,  how  should  the  sharers  in  it  be 
able  to  withhold  themselves  from  calling  on  others 
to  take  their  part  in  the  joy  ?  The  depth  of  a  man’s 
religion  may  be  roughly,  but  on  the  whole  fairly,  tested 
by  his  irrepressible  impulse  to  bring  other  men  to  the 
fountain  from  which  he  has  drunk.  Very  significantly 
does  the  psalm  call  on  men  to  “  taste  and  see,”  for  in 
religion  experience  must  precede  knowledge.  The  way 
to  “  taste  ”  is  to  “  trust  ”  or  to  “  take  refuge  in  ”  Jehovah. 
“  Crede  et  manducasti,”  says  Augustine.  The  psalm 
said  it  before  him.  Just  as  the  act  of  appealing  to 
Jehovah  was  described  in  a  threefold  way  in  vv.  4-6, 
so  a  threefold  designation  of  devout  men  occurs  in 
vv.  8-10.  They  “ trust,”  are  “  saints,”  they  “seek.” 
Faith,  consecration  and  aspiration  are  their  marks. 
These  are  the  essentials  of  the  religious  life,  what¬ 
ever  be  the  degree  of  revelation.  These  were  its 
essentials  in  the  psalmist’s  time,  and  they  are  so 
to-day.  As  abiding  as  they,  are  the  blessings  con¬ 
sequent.  These  may  all  be  summed  up  in  one — the 
satisfaction  of  every  need  and  desire.  There  are  two 
ways  of  seeking  for  satisfaction  :  that  of  effort,  violence 
and  reliance  on  one’s  own  teeth  and  claws  to  get  one’s 
meat;  the  other  that  of  patient,  submissive  trust.  Were 
there  lions  prowling  round  the  camp  at  Adullam,  and 
did  the  psalmist  take  their  growls  as  typical  of  all  vain 


xxxiv.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


327 


attempts  to  satisfy  the  soul  ?  Struggle  and  force  and 
self-reliant  efforts  leave  men  gaunt  and  hungry.  He 
who  takes  the  path  of  trust  and  has  his  supreme  desires 
set  on  God,  and  who  looks  to  Him  to  give  what  he 
himself  cannot  wring  out  of  life,  will  get  first  his  deepest 
desires  answered  in  possessing  God,  and  will  then  find 
that  the  One  great  Good  is  an  encyclopaedia  of  separate 
goods.  They  that  “  seek  Jehovah  ”  shall  assuredly  find 
Him,  and  in  Him  everything.  He  is  multiform,  and 
His  goodness  takes  many  shapes,  according  to  the  curves 
of  the  vessels  which  it  fills.  “  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  .  .  .  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto 
you.” 

The  mention  of  the  “  fear  of  the  Lord  ”  prepares  the 
way  for  the  transition  to  the  third  part  of  the  psalm.  It 
is  purely  didactic,  and,  in  its  simple  moral  teaching  and 
familiar  contrast  of  the  fates  of  righteous  and  ungodly, 
has  affinities  with  the  Book  of  Proverbs  ;  but  these  are 
not  so  special  as  to  require  the  supposition  of  contem¬ 
poraneousness.  It  is  unfashionable  now  to  incline  to 
the  Davidic  authorship ;  but  would  not  the  supposition 
that  the  “  children,”  who  are  to  be  taught  the  elements 
of  religion,  are  the  band  of  outlaws  who  have  gathered 
round  the  fugitive,  give  appropriateness  to  the  transition 
from  the  thanksgiving  of  the  first  part  to  the  didactic 
tone  of  the  second  ?  We  can  see  them  sitting  round 
the  singer  in  the  half-darkness  of  the  cave,  a  wild  group, 
needing  much  control  and  yet  with  faithful  hearts,  and 
loyal  to  their  leader,  who  now  tells  them  the  laws  of 
his  camp,  at  the  same  time  as  he  sets  forth  the  broad 
principles  of  that  morality,  which  is  the  garment  and 
manifestation  among  men  of  the  “fear  of  the  Lord.” 
The  relations  of  religion  and  morals  were  never  more 
clearly  and  strikingly  expressed  than  in  the  simple 


328 


THE  PSALMS. 


language  of  this  psalm,  which  puts  the  substance  of 
many  profound  treatises  in  a  nutshell,  when  it  expounds 
the  “  fear  of  Jehovah  ”  as  consisting  in  speaking  truth, 
doing  good,  abhorring  evil  and  seeking  peace  even  when 
it  seems  to  flee  from  us.  The  primal  virtues  are  the 
same  for  all  ages  and  stages  of  revelation.  The  definition 
of  good  and  evil  may  vary  and  become  more  spiritual 
and  inward,  but  the  dictum  that  it  is  good  to  love  and 
do  good  shines  unalterable.  The  psalmist’s  belief  that 
doing  good  was  the  sure  way  to  enjoy  good  was  a 
commonplace  of  Old  Testament  teaching,  and  under  a 
Theocracy  was  more  distinctly  verified  by  outward  facts 
than  now ;  but  even  then,  as  many  psalms  show,  had 
exceptions  so  stark  as  to  stir  many  doubts.  Unques¬ 
tionably  good  in  the  sense  of  blessedness  is  insepar¬ 
able  from  good  in  the  sense  of  righteousness,  as  evil 
which  is  suffering  is  from  evil  which  is  sin,  but  the 
conception  of  what  constitutes  blessedness  and  sorrow 
must  be  modified  so  as  to  throw  most  weight  on  inward 
experiences,  if  such  necessary  coincidence  is  to  be  main¬ 
tained  in  the  face  of  patent  facts. 

The  psalmist  closes  his  song  with  a  bold  statement 
of  the  general  principle  that  goodness  is  blessedness 
and  wickedness  is  wretchedness ;  but  he  finds  his  prQof 
mainly  in  the  contrasted  relation  to  Jehovah  involved 
in  the  two  opposite  moral  conditions.  He  has  no 
vulgar  conception  of  blessedness  as  resulting  from 
circumstances.  The  loving-kindness  of  Jehovah  is,  in 
his  view,  prosperity,  whatever  be  the  aspect  of  ex¬ 
ternals.  So  with  bold  symbols,  the  very  grossness  of 
the  letter  of  which  shields  them  from  misinterpretation, 
he  declares  this  as  the  secret  of  all  blessedness,  that 
Jehovah’s  eyes  are  towards  the  righteous  and  His 
ears  open  to  their  cry.  The  individual  experiences  of 


xxxiv.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


329 


vv.  5  and  6  are  generalised.  The  eye  of  God — i.e.  His 
loving  observance — rests  upon  and  blesses  those  whose 
faces  are  turned  to  Him,  and  His  ear  hears  the  poor 
man’s  cry.  The  grim  antithesis,  which  contains  in 
itself  the  seeds  of  all  unrest,  is  that  the  “  face  of 
Jehovah  ” — i.e.  His  manifested  presence,  the  same  face 
in  the  reflected  light  of  which  the  faces  of  the  righteous 
are  lit  up  with  gladness  and  dawning  glory — is  against 
evil  doers.  The  moral  condition  of  the  beholder 
determines  the  operation  of  the  light  of  God’s  coun¬ 
tenance  upon  him.  The  same  presence  is  light  and 
darkness,  life  and  death.  Evil  and  its  doers  shrivel 
and  perish  in  its  beams,  as  the  sunshine  kills  creatures 
whose  haunt  is  the  dark,  or  as  Apollo’s  keen  light- 
arrows  slew  the  monsters  of  the  slime.  All  else  follows 
from  this  double  relationship. 

The  remainder  of  the  psalm  runs  out  into  a  detailed 
description  of  the  joyful  fate  of  the  lovers  of  good, 
broken  only  by  one  tragic  /erse  (21),  like  a  black  rock 
in  the  midst  of  a  sunny  stream,  telling  how  evil  and 
evil-doers  end.  In  ver.  17,  as  in  ver.  5,  the  verb  has 
no  subject  expressed,  but  the  supplement  of  A.V.  and 
R.V,  “  the  righteous,”  is  naturally  drawn  from  the  con¬ 
text  and  is  found  in  the  LXX.,  whether  as  part  of  the 
original  text,  or  as  supplement  thereto,  is  unknown. 
The  construction  may,  as  in  ver.  6,  indicate  that  whoever 
cries  to  Jehovah  is  heard.  Hitzig  and  others  propose 
to  transpose  vv.  15  and  16,  so  as  to  get  a  nearer  sub¬ 
ject  for  the  verb  in  the  “ righteous”  of  ver.  15,  and 
defend  the  inversion  by  referring  to  the  alphabetic 
order  in  Lam.  ii.,  iii.,  iv.,  where  similarly  Pe  precedes 
Ayin ;  but  the  present  order  of  verses  is  better  as 
putting  the  principal  theme  of  this  part  of  the  psalm 
t — the  blessedness  of  the  righteous — in  the  foreground, 


330  THE  PSALMS. 

and  the  opposite  thought  as  its  foil.  The  main  thought 
of  vv.  17-20  is  nothing  more  than  the  experience  of 
vv.  4-7  thrown  into  the  form  of  general  maxims. 
They  are  the  commonplaces  of  religion,  but  come  with 
strange  freshness  to  a  man,  when  they  have  been 
verified  in  his  life.  Happy  they  who  can  cast  their 
personal  experience  into  such  proverbial  sayings,  and, 
having  by  faith  individualised  the  general  promises, 
can  re-generalise  the  individual  experience !  The 
psalmist  does  not  promise  untroubled  outward  good. 
His  anticipation  is  of  troubled  lives,  delivered  because 
of  crying  to  Jehovah.  “  Many  are  the  afflictions,”  but 
more  are  the  deliverances.  Many  are  the  blows  and 
painful  is  the  pressure,  but  they  break  no  bones,  though 
they  rack  and  wrench  the  frame.  Significant,  too,  is 
the  sequence  of  synonyms — righteous,  broken-hearted, 
crushed  in  spirit,  servants,  them  that  take  refuge  in 
Jehovah.  The  first  of  these  refers  mainly  to  conduct, 
the  second  to  that  submission  of  will  and  spirit  which 
sorrow  rightly  borne  brings  about,  substantially  equiva¬ 
lent  to  “  the  humble  ”  or  “  afflicted  ”  of  vv.  .  2  and  6, 
the  third  again  deals  mostly  with  practice,  and  the  last 
touches  the  foundation  of  all  service,  submission,  and 
righteousness,  as  laid  in  the  act  of  faith  in  Jehovah. 

The  last  group  of  vv.  21,  22,  puts  the  teaching  of 
the  psalm  in  one  terrible  contrast,  “  Evil  shall  slay  the 
wicked.”  It  were  a  mere  platitude  if  by  “evil”  were 
meant  misfortune.  The  same  thought  of  the  inseparable 
connection  of  the  two  senses  of  that  word,  which  runs 
through  the  context,  is  here  expressed  in  the  most 
terse  fashion.  To  do  evil  is  to  suffer  evil,  and  all  sin  is 
suicide.  Its  wages  is  death.  Every  sin  is  a  strand  in 
the  hangman’s  rope,  which  the  sinner  nooses  and  puts 
round  his  own  neck.  That  is  so  because  every  sin 


xxxiv.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


331 


brings  guilt,  and  guilt  brings  retribution.  Much  more 
than  “  desolate  ”  is  meant  in  vv.  21  and  22.  The  word 
means  to  be  condemned  or  held  guilty.  Jehovah  is  the 
Judge;  before  His  bar  all  actions  and  characters  are 
set  :  His  unerring  estimate  of  each  brings  with  it,  here 
and  now,  consequences  of  reward  and  punishment  which 
prophesy  a  future,  more  perfect  judgment.  The  redemp¬ 
tion  of  the  soul  of  God’s  servants  is  the  antithesis  to 
that  awful  experience  ;  and  they  only,  who  take  refuge 
in  Him,  escape  it.  The  full  Christian  significance  of 
this  final  contrast  is  in  the  Apostle’s  words,  “  There  is 
therefore  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in 
Christ  Jesus.” 


PSALM  XXXV. 


1  Plead  my  cause,  Jehovah,  with  those  who  plead  against  me-, 

Fight  with  those  who  fight  with  me. 

2  Grasp  target  and  shield, 

And  stand  up  in  my  help, 

3  And  unsheathe  lance  and  battle-axe  (?)  against  my  pursuers ; 

Say  to  my  soul,  Thy  salvation  am  I. 

4  Be  the  seekers  after  my  life  put  to  shame  and  dishonoured  * 

Be  the  plotters  of  my  hurt  turned  back  and  confounded 

5  Be  they  as  chaff  before  the  wind, 

And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  striking  them  down  ! 

6  Be  their  path  darkness  and  slipperiness, 

And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  pursuing  them  ! 

7  For  without  provocation  have  they  hidden  for  me  their  net; 
Without  provocation  have  they  dug  a  pit  for  my  life. 

8  May  destruction  light  on  him  unawares, 

And  his  net  which  he  hath  hidden  snare  him ; 

Into  destruction  (the  pit?) — may  he  fall  therein  ! 

9  And  my  soul  shall  exult  in  Jehovah, 

Shall  rejoice  in  His  salvation. 

10  All  my  bones  shall  say,  Jehovah,  who  is  like  Thee, 

Delivering  the  afflicted  from  a  stronger  than  he, 

Even  the  afflicted  and  poor  from  his  spoiler  ? 

1 1  Unjust  witnesses  rise  up  ; 

Of  what  I  know  not  they  ask  me. 

12  They  requite  me  evil  for  good — 

Bereavement  to  my  soul ! 

13  But  I — in  their  sickness  my  garment  was  sackcloth, 

I  afflicted  my  soul  by  fasting, 

And  my  prayer — may  it  return  again  (do  thou  return  ?)  to  my 
own  bosom. 

14  As  [for]  my  friend  or  brother,  I  dragged  myself  about  (bowed 

myself  down  ?)  ; 

As  one  mourning  for  a  mother,  I  bowed  down  (dragged  mysell 
about  ?)  in  squalid  attire. 

'no 

002 


XXXV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


333 


15  And  at  my  tottering  they  rejoice  and  assemble  themselves; 
Abjects  and  those  whom  I  know  not  assemble  against  me ;  \ 
They  tear  me,  and  cease  not, 

16  Like  the  profanest  of  buffoons  for  a  bit  of  bread, 

Gnashing  their  teeth  at  me. 

17  Lord,  how  long  wilt  Thou  look  on  ? 

Bring  back  my  soul  from  their  destructions, 

My  only  one  from  the  young  lions. 

18  I  will  praise  Thee  in  the  great  congregation  ; 

Among  people  strong  [in  number]  will  I  sound  Thy  praise. 

19  Let  not  my  enemies  wrongfully  rejoice  over  me, 

Nor  my  haters  without  provocation  wink  the  eye. 

20  For  it  is  not  peace  they  speak, 

And  against  the  quiet  of  the  land  they  plan  words  of  guile. 

21  And  they  open  wide  their  mouth  against  me; 

They  say,  Oho  !  Oho  !  our  eyes  have  seen. 

22  Thou  hast  seen,  Jehovah  :  be  not  deaf; 

Lord,  be  not  far  from  me  ! 

23  Arouse  Thyself,  and  awake  for  my  judgment, 

My  God  and  my  Lord,  for  my  suit ! 

24  Judge  me  according  to  Thy  righteousness,  Jehovah,  my  God, 

And  let  them  not  rejoice  over  me. 

25  Let  them  not  say  in  their  hearts,  Oho  !  our  desire ! 

Let  them  not  say,  We  have  swallowed  him. 

26  Be  those  who  rejoice  over  my  calamity  put  to  shame  and  con¬ 

founded  together ! 

Be  those  who  magnify  themselves  against  me  clothed  in  shame 
and  dishonour ! 

27  May  those  who  delight  in  my  righteous  cause  sound  out  their 

gladness  and  rejoice, 

And  say  continually,  Magnified  be  Jehovah, 

Who  delights  in  the  peace  of  His  servant. 

28  And  my  tongue  shall  meditate  Thy  righteousness, 

All  day  long  Thy  praise. 

THE  psalmist’s  life  is  in  danger.  He  is  the  victim 
of  ungrateful  hatred.  False  accusations  of  crimes 
that  he  never  dreamed  of  are  brought  against  him.  He 
professes  innocence,  and  appeals  to  Jehovah  to  be  his 


334 


THE  PSALMS. 


Advocate  and  also  his  Judge.  The  prayer  in  ver.  I  a 
uses  the  same  word  and  metaphor  as  David  does  in 
his  remonstrance  with  Saul  (i  Sam.  xxiv.  15).  The 
correspondence  with  David’s  situation  in  the  Sauline 
persecution  is,  at  least,  remarkable,  and  goes  far  to 
sustain  the  Davidic  authorship.  The  distinctly  indivi¬ 
dual  traits  in  the  psalm  are  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
regarding  it  as  a  national  psalm.  Jeremiah  has  several 
coincidences  in  point  of  expression  and  sentiment, 
which  are  more  naturally  accounted  for  as  reminis¬ 
cences  by  the  prophet  than  as  indications  that  he  was 
the  psalmist.  His  genius  was  assimilative,  and  liked 
to  rest  itself  on  earlier  utterances. 

The  psalm  has  three  parts,  all  of  substantially  the  same 
import,  and  marked  off  by  the  conclusion  of  each  being 
a  vow  of  praise  and  the  main  body  of  each  being  a  cry 
for  deliverance,  a  characterisation  of  the  enemy  as 
ungrateful  and  malicious,  and  a  profession  of  the 
singer’s  innocence.  We  do  not  look  for  melodious 
variations  of  note  in  a  cry  for  help.  The  only  variety 
to  be  expected  is  in  its  shrill  intensity  and  prolongation. 
The  triple  division  is  in  accordance  with  the  natural 
feeling  of  completeness  attaching  to  the  number.  If 
there  is  any  difference  between  the  three  sets  of 
petitions,  it  may  be  observed  that  the  first  (vv.  1-10) 
alleges  innocence  and  vows  praise  without  reference  to 
others  ;  that  the  second  (vv.  1 1— 1 8)  rises  to  a  profession 
not  only  of  innocence,  but  of  beneficence  and  affection 
met  by  hate,  and  ends  with  a  vow  of  public  praise ;  and 
that  the  final  section  (vv.  19-28)  has  less  description  of 
the  machinations  of  the  enemy  and  more  prolonged 
appeal  to  Jehovah  for  His  judgment,  and  ends,  not  with 
a  solo  of  the  psalmist’s  gratitude,  but  with  a  chorus  of 
his  friends,  praising  God  for  his  “  prosperity.” 


XXXV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


335 


The  most  striking  features  of  the  first  part  are  the 
boldness  of  the  appeal  to  Jehovah  to  fight  for  the 
psalmist  and  the  terrible  imprecations  and  magnificent 
picture  in  vv.  5,  6.  The  relation  between  the  two 
petitions  of  ver.  I,  “  Plead  with  those  who  plead  against 
the  ”  and  “  Fight  with  them  that  fight  against  me,” 
may  be  variously  determined.  Both  may  be  figurative, 
the  former  drawn  from  legal  processes,  the  latter  from 
the  battle-field.  But  more  probably  the  psalmist  was 
really  the  object  of  armed  attack,  and  the  “  fighting” 
was  a  grim  reality.  The  suit  against  him  was  being 
carried  on,  not  in  a  court,  but  in  the  field.  The  render¬ 
ing  of  the  R.V.  in  ver.  1,  “ Strive  with  .  .  .  who  strive 
against  me,”  obscures  the  metaphor  of  a  lawsuit,  which, 
in  view  of  its  further  expansion  in  vv.  23,  24  (and  in 
“  witnesses  ”  in  ver.  1 1  ?),  is  best  retained.  That  is  a 
daring  flight  of  reverent  imagination  which  thinks  of  the 
armed  Jehovah  as  starting  to  His  feet  to  help  one  poor 
man.  The  attitude  anticipates  Stephen’s  vision  of  “  the 
Son  of  man  standing,”  not  throned  in  rest,  but  risen 
in  eager  sympathy  and  intent  to  succour.  But  the 
panoply  in  which  the  psalmist’s  faith  arrays  Jehovah,  is 
purely  imaginative  and,  of  course,  has  nothing  parallel  in 
the  martyr’s  vision.  The  “  target  ”  was  smaller  than  the 
“  shield”  (2  Chron.  ix.  15,  16).  Both  could  not  be 
wielded  at  once,  but  the  incongruity  helps  to  idealise  the 
bold  imagery  and  to  emphasise  the  Divine  completeness 
of  protecting  power.  It  is  the  psalmist,  and  not  his 
heavenly  Ally,  who  is  to  be  sheltered.  The  two  defen¬ 
sive  weapons  are  probably  matched  by  two  offensive 
ones  in  ver.  3.  The  word  rendered  in  the  A.  V.  “  stop  ” 
(“  the  way  ”  being  a  supplement)  is  more  probably  to 
be  taken  as  the  name  of  a  weapon,  a  battle-axe  accord¬ 
ing  to  some,  a  dirk  or  dagger  according  to  others.  The 


336 


THE  PSALMS. 


ordinary  translation  gives  a  satisfactory  sense,  but  the 
other  is  more  in  accordance  with  the  following  preposi¬ 
tion,  with  the  accents,  and  with  the  parallelism  of 
target  and  shield.  In  either  case,  how  beautifully  the 
spiritual  reality  breaks  through  the  warlike  metaphor ! 
This  armed  Jehovah,  grasping  shield  and  drawing  spear, 
utters  no  battle  shout,  but  whispers  consolation  to  the 
trembling  man  crouching  behind  his  shield.  The  out¬ 
ward  side  of  the  Divine  activity,  turned  to  the  foe,  is 
martial  and  menacing ;  the  inner  side  is  full  of  tender, 
secret  breathings  of  comfort  and  love. 

The  previous  imagery  of  the  battle-field  and  the 
Warrior  God  moulds  the  terrible  wishes  in  vv.  4-6, 
which  should  not  be  interpreted  as  having  a  wider 
reference  than  to  the  issue  of  the  attacks  on  the 
psalmist.  The  substance  of  them  is  nothing  more 
than  the  obverse  of  his  wish  for  his  own  deliverance, 
which  necessarily  is  accomplished  by  the  defeat  of  his 
enemies.  The  u  moral  difficulty  ”  of  such  wishes  is  not 
removed  by  restricting  them  to  the  special  matter  in 
hand,  but  it  is  unduly  aggravated  if  they  are  supposed 
to  go  beyond  it.  However  restricted,  they  express  a 
stage  of  feeling  far  beneath  the  Christian,  and  the 
attempt  to  slur  over  the  contrast  is  in  danger  of  hiding 
the  glory  of  midday  for  fear  of  not  doing  justice  to  the 
beauty  of  morning  twilight.  It  is  true  that  the  u  impre¬ 
cations  ”  of  the  Psalter  are  not  the  offspring  of  passion, 
and  that  the  psalmists  speak  as  identifying  their  cause 
with  God’s  ;  but  when  all  such  considerations  are  taken 
into  account,  these  prayers  against  enemies  remain 
distinctly  inferior  to  the  code  of  Christian  ethics.  The 
more  frankly  the  fact  is  recognised,  the  better.  But,  if 
we  turn  from  the  moral  to  the  poetic  side  of  these 
verses,  what  stern  beauty  there  is  in  that  awful  picture 


XXXV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


337 


of  the  fleeing  foe,  with  the  angel  of  Jehovah  pressing 
hard  on  their  broken  ranks  !  The  hope  which  has  been 
embodied  in  the  legends  of  many  nations,  that  the 
gods  were  seen  fighting  for  their  worshippers,  is  the 
psalmist’s  faith,  and  in  its  essence  is  ever  true.  That 
angel,  whom  we  heard  of  in  the  previous  psalm  as 
defending  the  defenceless  encampment  of  them  that  fear 
Jehovah,  fights  with  and  scatters  the  enemies  like  chaff 
before  the  wind.  One  more  touch  of  terror  is  added  in 
that  picture  of  flight  in  the  dark,  on  a  slippery  path, 
with  the  celestial  avenger  close  on  the  fugitives’  heels, 
as  when  the  Amorite  kings  fled  down  the  pass  of 
Beth-horon,  and  “  Jehovah  cast  great  stones  from 
heaven  upon  them.”  Aischylus  or  Dante  has  nothing 
more  concentrated  or  suggestive  of  terror  and  beauty 
than  this  picture. 

The  psalmist’s  consciousness  of  innocence  is  the 
ground  of  his  prayer  and  confidence.  Causeless  hatred 
is  the  lot  of  the  good  in  this  evil  world.  Their  good¬ 
ness  is  cause  enough  ;  for  men’s  likes  and  dislikes 
follow  their  moral  character.  Virtue  rebukes,  and  even 
patient  endurance  irritates.  No  hostility  is  so  hard  to 
turn  into  love  as  that  which  has  its  origin,  not  in  the 
attitude  of  its  object,  but  in  instinctive  consciousness 
of  contrariety  in  the  depths  of  the  soul.  Whoever 
wills  to  live  near  God  and  tries  to  shape  his  life  accord¬ 
ingly  may  make  up  his  mind  to  be  the  mark  for  many 
arrows  of  popular  dislike,  sometimes  lightly  tipped  with 
ridicule,  sometimes  dipped  in  gall,  sometimes  steeped 
in  poison,  but  always  sharpened  by  hostility.  The 
experience  is  too  uniform  to  identify  the  poet  by  it,  but 
the  correspondence  with  David’s  tone  in  his  remon¬ 
strances  with  Saul  is,  at  least,  worthy  of  consideration. 
The  familiar  figures  of  the  hunter’s  snare  and  pitfall 

22 


338 


THE  PSALMS. 


recur  here,  as  expressing  crafty  plans  for  destruction, 
and  pass,  as  in  other  places,  into  the  wish  that  the 
lex  talionis  may  fall  on  the  would-be  ensnarer.  The 
text  appears  to  be  somewhat  dislocated  and  corrupted 
in  vv.  7,  8.  The  word  “  pit  ”  is  needless  in  ver.  7  a , 
since  snares  are  not  usually  spread  in  pits,  and  it  is 
wanted  in  the  next  clause,  and  should  therefore  pro¬ 
bably  be  transposed.  Again,  the  last  clause  of  ver.  8, 
whether  the  translation  of  the  A.V.  or  of  the  R.V.  be. 
adopted,  is  awkward  and  feeble  from  the  repetition  of 
“  destruction,”  but  if  we  read  “  pit,”  which  involves  only 
a  slight  change  of  letters,  we  avoid  tautology,  and 
preserve  the  reference  to  the  two  engines  of  craft :  u  Let 
his  net  which  he  spread  catch  him  ;  in  the  pit — let  him 
fall  therein  !  ”  The  enemy’s  fall  is  the  occasion  of  glad 
praise,  not  because  his  intended  victim  yields  to  the 
temptation  to  take  malicious  delight  in  his  calamity 
( Schadenfreude ).  His  own  deliverance,  not  the  other’s 
destruction,  makes  the  singer  joyful  in  Jehovah,  and 
what  he  vows  to  celebrate  is  not  the  retributive,  but  the 
delivering,  aspect  of  the  Divine  act.  In  such  joy  there 
is  nothing  unworthy  of  the  purest  forgiving  love  to  foes. 
The  relaxation  of  the  tension  of  anxiety  and  fear  brings 
the  sweetest  moments,  in  the  sweetness  of  which  soul 
and  body  seem  to  share,  and  the  very  bones,  which  were 
consumed  and  waxed  old  (vi.  3,  xxxii.  3),  are  at  ease, 
and,  in  their  sense  of  well-being,  have  a  tongue  to  ascribe 
it  to  Jehovah’s  delivering  hand.  No  physical  enjoy¬ 
ment  surpasses  the  delight  of  simple  freedom  from  long 
torture  of  pain,  nor  are  there  many  experiences  so 
poignantly  blessed  as  that  of  passing  out  of  tempest 
into  calm.  Well  for  those  who  deepen  and  hallow 
such  joy  by  turning  it  into  praise,  and  see  even  in  the 
experiences  of  their  little  lives  tokens  of  the  incompar- 


XXXV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


339 


able  greatness  and  unparalleled  love  of  their  delivering 
God  ! 

Once  more  the  singer  plunges  into  the  depths,  not 
because  his  faith  fails  to  sustain  him  on  the  heights 
which  it  had  won,  but  because  it  would  travel  the  road 
again,  in  order  to  strengthen  itself  by  persistent  prayers 
which  are  not  u  vain  repetitions.”  The  second  division 
(vv.  1 1- 1 8)  runs  parallel  with  the  first,  with  some 
differences.  The  reference  to  “  unjust  witnesses  ”  and 
their  charges  of  crimes  which  he  had  never  dreamed 
of  may  be  but  the  reappearance  of  the  image  of  a  law¬ 
suit,  as  in  ver.  I,  but  is  more  probably  fact.  We  may 
venture  to  think  of  the  slanders  which  poisoned  Saul’s 
too  jealous  mind,  just  as  in  “  They  requite  me  evil  for 
good  ”  we  have  at  least  a  remarkable  verbal  coincidence 
with  the  latter’s  burst  of  tearful  penitence  (i  Sam.  xxiv. 
17):  “  Thou  art  more  righteous  than  I,  for  thou  hast 
rendered  unto  me  good,  whereas  I  have  rendered  unto 
thee  evil.”  What  a  wail  breaks  the  continuity  of  the 
sentence  in  the  pathetic  words  of  ver.  12  b  ! — “  Bereave¬ 
ment  to  my  soul !  ”  The  word  is  used  again  in  Isa. 
xlviii.  7,  8,  and  there  is  translated  “  loss  of  children.” 
The  forlorn  man  felt  as  if  all  whom  he  loved  were  swept 
away,  and  he  left  alone  to  face  the  storm.  The  utter 
loneliness  of  sorrow  was  never  more  vividly  expressed. 
The  interjected  clause  sounds  like  an  agonised  cry  forced 
from  a  man  on  the  rack.  Surely  we  hear  in  it  not  the 
voice  of  a  personified  nation,  but  of  an  individual 
sufferer,  and  if  we  have  been  down  into  the  depths 
ourselves,  we  recognise  the  sound.  The  consciousness 
of  innocence  marking  the  former  section  becomes  now 
the  assertion  of  active  sympathy,  met  by  ungrateful 
hate.  The  power  of  kindness  is  great,  but  there  are 
ill-conditioned  souls  which  resent  it.  There  is  tog 


340 


THE  PSALMS. 


much  truth  in  the  cynical  belief  that  the  sure  way  to 
make  an  enemy  is  to  do  a  kindness.  It  is  all  too  common 
an  experience  that  the  more  abundantly  one  loves,  the 
less  he  is  loved.  The  highest  degree  of  unrequited 
participation  in  others’  sorrows  is  seen  in  Him  who 
“  Himself  took  our  sicknesses.”  This  psalmist  so 
shared  in  those  of  his  foes  that  in  sackcloth  and  with 
fasting  he  prayed  for  their  healing.  Whether  the 
prayer  was  answered  to  them  or  not,  it  brought  reflex 
blessing  to  him,  for  self-forgetting  sympathy  is  never 
waste,  even  though  it  does  not  secure  returns  of 
gratitude.  u  Your  peace  shall  return  ■  to  you  again,” 
though  it  may  not  bring  peace  to  nor  with  a  jangling 
household.  Riehm  (in  Hupfeld)  suggests  the  trans¬ 
position  of  the  verbs  in  14  a  and  b  :  “  I  bowed  down 
as  though  he  had  been  my  friend  or  brother ;  I  went 
in  mourning,”  etc.,  the  former  clause  painting  the 
drooping  head  of  a  mourner,  the  latter  his  slow  walk 
and  sad  attire,  either  squalid  or  black. 

The  reverse  of  this  picture  of  true  sympathy  is  given 
in  the  conduct  of  its  objects  when  it  was  the  psalmist’s 
turn  to  sorrow.  Gleefully  they  flock  together  to  mock 
and  triumph.  His  calamity  was  as  good  as  a  feast  to 
the  ingrates.  Vv.  15  and  16  are  in  parts  obscure,  but 
the  general  sense  is  clear.  The  word  rendered  a  abjects  ” 
is  unique,  and  consequently  its  meaning  is  doubtful, 
and  various  conjectural  emendations  have  been  pro¬ 
posed—^.,  “  foreigners,”  which,  as  Hupfeld  says,  is 
“  as  foreign  to  the  connection  as  can  be,”  “  smiting,” 
and  others — but  the  rendering  u  abjects,”  or  men  of  low 
degree,  gives  an  intelligible  meaning.  The  comparison 
in  ver.  16  a  is  extremely  obscure.  The  existing  text 
is  harsh  ;  “  profane  of  mockers  for  a  cake  ”  needs  much 
explanation  to  be  intelligible.  i(  Mockers  for  a  cake  ” 


XXXV.] 


341 


THE  PSALMS. 


are  usually  explained  to  be  hangers-on  at  feasts  who 
found  wit  for  dull  guests  and  were  paid  by  a  share 
of  good  things,  or  who  crept  into  favour  and  entertain¬ 
ment  by  slandering  the  objects  of  the  host’s  dislike. 
Another  explanation,  suggested  by  Hupfeld  as  an 
alternative,  connects  the  word  rendered  “  mockers  ”  with 
the  imagery  in  “tear”  (ver.  15)  and  “gnash  ”  (ver.  16) 
and  “swallow”  (ver.  25),  and  by  an  alteration  of  one 
letter  gets  the  rendering  “like  profane  cake-devourers,” 
so  comparing  the  enemies  to  greedy  gluttons,  to  whom 
the  psalmist’s  ruin  is  a  dainty  morsel  eagerly  devoured. 

The  picture  of  his  danger  is  followed,  as  in  the 
former  part,  by  the  psalmist’s  prayer.  To  him  God’s 
beholding  without  interposing  is  strange,  and  the 
time  seems  protracted  ;  for  the  moments  creep  when 
sorrow-laden,  and  God’s  help  seems  slow  to  tortured 
hearts.  But  the  impatience  which  speaks  of  itself  to 
Him  is  soothed,  and,  though  the  man  who  cries,  How 
long  ?  may  feel  that  his  life  lies  as  among  lions,  he  will 
swiftly  change  his  note  of  petition  into  thanksgiving. 
The  designation  of  the  life  as  “my  only  one,”  as  in 
xxii.  20,  enhances  the  earnestness  of  petition  by  the 
thought  that,  once  lost,  it  can  never  be  restored.  A 
man  has  but  one  life  ;  therefore  he  holds  it  so  dear. 
The  mercy  implored  for  the  single  soul  will  be  occasion 
of  praise  before  many  people.  Not  now,  as  in  vv.  9,  10, 
is  the  thankfulness  a  private  soliloquy.  Individual 
blessings  should  be  publicly  acknowledged,  and  the 
praise  accruing  thence  may  be  used  as  a  plea  with  God, 
who  delivers  men  that  they  may  “show  forth  the 
excellencies  of  Him  who  hath  called  them  out  of”  trouble 
into  His  marvellous  peace. 

The  third  division  (ver.  18  to  end)  goes  over  nearly 
the  same  ground  as  before,  with  the  difference  that  the 


34^ 


THE  PSALMS. 


prayer  for  deliverance  is  more  extended,  and  that  the 
resulting  praise  comes  from  the  great  congregation, 
joining  in  as  chorus  in  the  singer’s  solo.  The  former 
references  to  innocence  and  causeless  hatred,  lies  and 
plots,  open-mouthed  rage,  are  repeated.  “Our  eyes 
have  seen,”  say  the  enemies,  counting  their  plots  as  good 
as  successful  and  snorting  contempt  of  their  victim’s 
helplessness  ;  but  he  bethinks  him  of  another  eye,  and 
grandly  opposes  God’s  sight  to  theirs.  Usually  that 
Jehovah  sees  is,  in  the  Psalter,  the  same  as  His  helping  ; 
but  here,  as  in  ver.  17,  the  two  things  are  separated, 
as  they  so  often  are,  in  fact,  for  the  trial  of  faith.  God’s 
inaction  does  not  disprove  His  knowledge,  but  the 
pleading  soul  presses  on  Him  His  knowledge  as  a  plea 
that  He  would  not  be  deaf  to  its  cry  nor  far  from  its 
help.  The  greedy  eyes  of  the  enemy  round  the 
psalmist  gloat  on  their  prey ;  but  he  cries  aloud  to  his 
God,  and  dares  to  speak  to  Him  as  if  He  were  deaf  and 
far  off,  inactive  and  asleep.  The  imagery  of  the  lawsuit 
reappears  in  fuller  form  here.  “  My  cause  ”  in  ver.  23 
is  a  noun  cognate  with  the  verb  rendered  “  plead  ”  or 
“strive”  in  ver.  I;  “Judge  me”  in  ver.  24  does  not 
mean,  Pronounce  sentence  on  my  character  and  conduct, 
but,  Do  me  right  in  this  case  of  mine  versus  my  gratu¬ 
itous  foes. 

Again  recurs  the  prayer  for  their  confusion,  which 
clearly  has  no  wider  scope  than  concerning  the  matter 
in  hand.  It  is  no  breach  of  Christian  charity  to  pray 
that  hostile  devices  may  fail.  The  vivid  imagination  of 
the  poet  hears  the  triumphant  exclamations  of  gratified 
hatred  :  “  Oho  !  our  desire  !  ”  “  We  have  sw'allowed 
him,”  and  sums  up  the  character  of  his  enemies  in 
the  two  traits  of  malicious  joy  in  his  hurt  and  self¬ 
exaltation  in  their  hostility  to  him. 


XXXV.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


343 


At  last  the  prayer,  which  has  run  through  so  many 
moods  of  feeling,  settles  itself  into  restful  contemplation 
of  the  sure  results  of  Jehovah’s  sure  deliverance.  One 
receives  the  blessing ;  many  rejoice  in  it.  In  significant 
antithesis  to  the  enemies’  joy  is  the  joy  of  the 
rescued  man’s  lovers  and  favourers.  Their  “  saying  ” 
stands  over  against  the  silenced  boastings  of  the  losers 
of  the  suit.  The  latter  “  magnified  themselves,”  but 
the  end  of  Jehovah’s  deliverance  will  be  that  true  hearts 
will  “  magnify  ”  Him.  The  victor  in  the  cause  will  give 
all  the  praise  to  the  Judge,  and  he  and  his  friends  will 
unite  in  self-oblivious  praise.  Those  who  delight  in 
his  righteousness  are  of  one  mind  with  Jehovah,  and 
magnify  Him  because  He  “delights  in  the  peace  of  His 
servant.”  While  they  ring  out  their  praises,  the  humble 
suppliant,  whose  cry  has  brought  the  Divine  act  which 
has  waked  all  this  surging  song,  “shall  musingly  speak 
in  the  low  murmur  of  one  entranced  by  a  sweet  thought  ” 
(Cheyne),  or,  if  we  might  use  a  fine  old  word,  shall 
“  croon  ”  over  God’s  righteousness  all  the  day  long. 
That  is  the  right  end  of  mercies  received.  Whether 
there  be  many  voices  to  join  in  praise  or  no,  one  voice 
should  not  be  silent,  that  of  the  receiver  of  the 
blessings,  and,  even  when  he  pauses  in  his  song,  his 
heart  should  keep  singing  day-long  and  life-long  praises. 


t 


PSALM  XXXVI. 


1  The  wicked  has  an  Oracle  of  Transgression  within  his  heart ; 
There  is  no  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes. 

2  For  it  speaks  smooth  things  to  him  in  his  imagination  (eyes) 

As  to  finding  out  his  iniquity,  as  to  hating  [it]. 

3  The  words  of  his  mouth  are  iniquity  and  deceit ; 

He  has  ceased  being  wise,  doing  good. 

4  He  plots  mischief  upon  his  bed  ; 

He  sets  himself  firmly  in  a  way  [that  is]  not  good; 

Evil  he  loathes  not. 

5  Jehovah,  Thy  loving-kindness  is  in  the  heavens, 

Thy  faithfulness  is  unto  the  clouds. 

6  Thy  righteousness  is  like  the  mountains  of  God, 

Thy  judgments  a  mighty  deep  ; 

Man  and  beast  preservest  Thou,  Jehovah. 

7  How  precious  is  Thy  loving-kindness,  Jehovah,  O  God  ! 

And  the  sons  of  men  in  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings  take  refuge. 

8  They  are  satisfied  from  the  fatness  of  Thy  house, 

And  [of]  the  river  of  Thy  delights  Thou  givest  them  to  drink. 

9  For  with  Thee  is  the  fountain  of  life; 

In  Thy  light  do  we  see  light. 

10  Continue  Thy  loving-kindness  to  those  who  know  Thee, 

And  Thy  righteousness  to  the  upright  in  heart. 

1 1  Let  not  the  foot  of  pride  come  against  me, 

And  the  hand  of  the  wicked — let  it  not  drive  me  forth, 

12  There  the  workers  of  iniquity  are  fallen  ; 

They  are  struck  down,  and  are  not  able  to  rise. 

THE  supposition  that  the  sombre  picture  of  “the 
wicked  ”  in  vv.  1-4  was  originally  unconnected 
with  the  glorious  hymn  in  vv.  5-9  fails  to  give  weight 
to  the  difference  between  the  sober  pace  of  pedestrian 

344 


xxx  vi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


345 


prose  and  the  swift  flight  of  winged  poetry.  It  fails 
also  in  apprehending  the  instinctive  turning  of  a  devout 
meditative  spectator  from  the  darkness  of  earth  and  its 
sins  to  the  light  above.  The  one  refuge  from  the  sad 
vision  of  evil  here  is  in  the  faith  that  God  is  above  it 
all,  and  that  His  name  is  Mercy.  Nor  can  the  blackness 
of  the  one  picture  be  anywhere  so  plainly  seen  as  when 
it  is  set  in  front  of  the  brightness  of  the  other.  A 
religious  man,  who  has  laid  to  heart  the  miserable  sights 
of  which  earth  is  full,  will  scarcely  think  that  the 
psalmist’s  quick  averting  of  his  eyes  from  these  to 
steep  them  in  the  light  of  God  is  unnatural,  or  that  the 
original  connection  of  the  two  parts  of  this  psalm  is 
an  artificial  supposition.  Besides  this,  the  closing 
section  of  prayer  is  tinged  with  references  to  the  first 
part,  and  derives  its  raison  d'etre  from  it.  The  three 
parts  form  an  organic  whole. 

The  gnarled  obscurity  of  the  language  in  which  the 
“  wicked  ”  is  described  corresponds  to  the  theme,  and 
contrasts  strikingly  with  the  limpid  flow  of  the  second 
part.  “  The  line,  too,  labours  ”  as  it  tries  to  tell  the 
dark  thoughts  that  move  to  dark  deeds.  Vv.  I,  2, 
unveil  the  secret  beliefs  of  the  sinner,  vv.  3,  4,  his 
consequent  acts.  As  the  text  stands,  it  needs  much 
torturing  to  get  a  tolerable  meaning  out  of  ver.  I,  and 
the  slight  alteration,  found  in  the  LXX.  and  in  some 
old  versions,  of  u  his  heart  ”  instead  of  “  my  heart  ” 
smooths  the  difficulty.  We  have  then  a  bold  personifi¬ 
cation  of  “  Transgression  ”  as  speaking  in  the  secret 
heart  of  the  wicked,  as  in  some  dark  cave,  such  as 
heathen  oracle-mongers  haunted.  There  is  bitter  irony 
in  using  the  sacred  word  which  stamped  the  prophets’ 
utterances,  and  which  we  may  translate  “  oracle,”  for 
the  godless  lies  muttered  in  the  sinner’s  heart.  This 


346 


THE  PSALMS 


is  the  account  of  how  men  come  to  do  evil :  that  there 
is  a  voice  within  whispering  falsehood.  And  the  reason 
why  that  bitter  voice  has  the  shrine  to  itself  is  that 
“  there  is  no  fear  of  God  before”  the  man’s  “eyes.” 
The  two  clauses  of  ver.  I  are  simply  set  side  by  side, 
leaving  the  reader  to  spell  out  their  logical  relation. 
Possibly  the  absence  of  the  fear  of  God  may  be  re¬ 
garded  as  both  the  occasion  and  the  result  of  the  oracle 
of  Transgression,  since,  in  fact,  it  is  both.  Still  more 
obscure  is  ver.  2.  Who  is  the  “  flatterer  ”  ?  The 
answers  are  conflicting.  The  “  wicked,”  say  some,  but 
if  so,  “  in  his  own  eyes  ”  is  superfluous  ;  “  God,”  say 
others,  but  that  requires  a  doubtful  meaning  for 
“  flatters  ” — namely,  “  treats  gently  ” — and  is  open  to 
the  same  objection  as  the  preceding  in  regard  to  “in 
his  own  eyes.”  The  most  natural  supposition  is  that 
“  transgression,”  which  was  represented  in  ver.  I  as 
speaking,  is  here  also  meant.  Clearly  the  person  in 
whose  eyes  the  flattery  is  real  is  the  wicked,  and  there¬ 
fore  its  speaker  must  be  another.  “Sin  beguiled  me,” 
says  Paul,  and  therein  echoes  this  psalmist.  Trans¬ 
gression  in  its  oracle  is  one  of  “  those  juggling  fiends 
that  palter  with  us  in  a  double  sense,”  promising 
delights  and  impunity.  But  the  closing  words  of  ver.  2 
are  a  crux.  Conjectural  emendations  have  been  sug¬ 
gested,  but  do  not  afford  much  help.  Probably  the 
best  way  is  to  take  the  text  as  it  stands,  and  make 
the  best  of  it.  The  meaning  it  yields  is  harsh,  but 
tolerable  :  “  to  find  out  his  sin,  to  hate  ”  (it  ?).  Who 
finds  out  sin  ?  God.  If  He  is  the  finder,  it  is  He 
who  also  “  hates  ”  ;  and  if  it  is  sin  that  is  the  object  of 
the  one  verb,  it  is  most  natural  to  suppose  it  that  of 
the  other  also.  The  two  verbs  are  infinitives,  with  the 
preposition  of  purpose  or  of  reference  prefixed.  Either 


xxxvi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


347 


meaning  is  allowable.  If  the  preposition  is  taken  as 
implying  reference,  the  sense  will  be  that  the  glosing 
whispers  of  sin  deceive  a  man  in  regard  to  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  his  wrong-doing  and  God’s  displeasure  at  it. 
Impunity  is  promised,  and  God’s  holiness  is  smoothed 
down.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  idea  of  purpose  is 
adopted,  the  solemn  thought  emerges  that  the  oracle 
is  spoken  with  intent  to  ruin  the  deluded  listener  and 
set  his  secret  sins  in  the  condemning  light  of  God’s 
face.  Sin  is  cruel,  and  a  traitor.  This  profound 
glimpse  into  the  depths  of  a  soul  without  the  fear  of 
God  is  followed  by  the  picture  of  the  consequences  of 
such  practical  atheism,  as  seen  in  conduct.  It  is 
deeply  charged  with  blackness  and  unrelieved  by  any 
gleam  of  light.  Falsehood,  abandonment  of  all  attempts 
to  do  right,  insensibility  to  the  hallowing  influences  of 
nightly  solitude,  when  men  are  wont  to  see  their  evil 
more  clearly  in  the  dark,  like  phosphorus  streaks  on 
the  wall,  obstinate  planting  the  feet  in  ways  not  good, 
a  silenced  conscience  which  has  no  movement  of 
aversion  to  evil — these  are  the  fruits  of  that  oracle 
of  Trangression  when  it  has  its  perfect  work.  We 
may  call  such  a  picture  the  idealisation  of  the  character 
described,  but  there  have  been  men  who  realised  it, 
and  the  warning  is  weighty  that  such  a  uniform  and 
all-enwrapping  darkness  is  the  terrible  goal  towards 
which  all  listening  to  that  bitter  voice  tends.  No 
wonder  that  the  psalmist  wrenches  himself  swiftly 
away  from  such  a  sight ! 

The  two  strophes  of  the  second  division  (vv.  5,  6,  and 
7-9)  present  the  glorious  realities  of  the  Divine  name 
in  contrast  with  the  false  oracle  of  vv.  1,  2,  and  the 
blessedness  of  God’s  guests  in  contrast  with  the  gloomy 
picture  of  the  “  wicked  ”  in  vv.  3,  4.  It  is  noteworthy 


348 


TI1E  PSALMS. 


that  the  first  and  last-named  “  attributes  ”  are  the  same. 
“  Loving-kindness  ”  begins  and  ends  the  glowing  series 
That  stooping,  active  love  encloses,  like  a  golden  circlet, 
all  else  that  men  can  know  or  say  of  the  perfection 
whose  name  is  God.  It  is  the  white  beam  into  which 
all  colours  melt,  and  from  which  all  are  evolved.  As 
science  feels  after  the  reduction  of  all  forms  of  physical 
energy  to  one,  for  which  there  is  no  name  but  energy, 
all  the  adorable  glories  of  God  pass  into  one,  which  He 
has  bidden  us  call  love.  “  Thy  loving-kindness  is  in 
the  heavens,”  towering  on  high.  It  is  like  some  Divine 
aether,  filling  all  space.  The  heavens  are  the  home  of 
light.  They  arch  above  every  head  ;  they  rim  every 
horizon  ;  they  are  filled  with  nightly  stars  ;  they  open 
into  abysses  as  the  eye  gazes ;  they  bend  unchanged 
and  untroubled  above  a  weary  earth;  from  them  fall 
benedictions  of  rain  and  sunshine.  All  these  subordi¬ 
nate  allusions  may  lie  in  the  psalmist’s  thought,  while 
its  main  intention  is  to  magnify  the  greatness  of 
that  mercy  as  heaven-high. 

But  mercy  standing  alone  might  seem  to  lack  a 
guarantee  of  its  duration,  and  therefore  the  strength 
of  u  faithfulness,”  unalterable  continuance  in  a  course 
begun,  and  adherence  to  every  promise  either  spoken 
in  words  or  implied  in  creation  or  providence,  is  added 
to  the  tenderness  of  mercy.  The  boundlessness  of  that 
faithfulness  is  the  main  thought,  but  the  contrast  of  the 
whirling,  shifting  clouds  with  it  is  striking.  The  realm 
of  eternal  purpose  and  enduring  act  reaches  to  and 
stretches  above  the  lower  region  where  change  rules. 

But  a  third  glory  has  yet  to  be  flashed  before  glad 
eyes,  God’s  “  righteousness,”  which  here  is  not  merely 
nor  mainly  punitive,  but  delivering,  or,  perhaps  in  a 
still  wider  view,  the  perfect  conformity  of  His  nature 


XXXVI. 


THE  PSALMS. 


349 


with  the  ideal  of  ethical  completeness.  Right  is  the 
same  for  heaven  as  for  earth,  and  “  whatsoever  things 
are  just”  have  their  home  in  the  bosom  of  God. 
The  point  of  comparison  with  “  the  mountains  of  God  ” 
is,  as  in  the  previous  clauses,  their  loftiness,  which 
expresses  greatness  and  elevation  above  our  reach ; 
but  the  subsidiary  ideas  of  permanence  and  sublimity 
are  not  to  be  overlooked.  “The  mountains  shall 
depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed,  but  His  righteous¬ 
ness  endures  for  ever.”  There  is  safe  hiding  there, 
in  the  fastnesses  of  that  everlasting  hill.  From 
character  the  psalmist  passes  to  acts,  and  sets  all 
the  Divine  dealings  forth  under  the  one  category  of 
“judgments,”  the  utterances  in  act  of  His  judicial 
estimate  of  men.  Mountains  seem  highest  and  ocean 
broadest  when  the  former  rise  sheer  from  the  water’s 
edge,  as  Carmel  does.  The  immobility  of  the  silent 
hills  is  wonderfully  contrasted  with  the  ever-moving  sea, 
which  to  the  Hebrew  was  the  very  home  of  mystery. 
The  obscurity  of  the  Divine  judgments  is  a  subject 
of  praise,  if  we  hold  fast  by  faith  in  God’s  loving¬ 
kindness,  faithfulness,  and  righteousness.  They  are 
obscure  by  reason  of  their  vast  scale,  which  permits 
the  vision  of  only  a  fragment.  How  little  of  the  ocean 
is  seen  from  any  shore  1  But  there  is  no  arbitrary 
obscurity.  The  sea  is  “  of  glass  mingled  with  fire  ”  ; 
and  if  the  eye  cannot  pierce  its  depths,  it  is  not 
because  of  any  darkening  impurity  in  the  crystal  clear¬ 
ness,  but  simply  because  not  even  light  can  travel  to 
the  bottom.  The  higher  up  on  the  mountains  men 
go,  the  deeper  down  can  they  see  into  that  ocean. 
It  is  a  hymn,  not  an  indictment,  which  says,  “  Tlry 
judgments  are  a  great  deep.”  But  however  the  heights 
tower  and  the  abysses  open,  there  is  a  strip  of  green. 


35o 


THE  PSALMS. 


solid  earth  on  which  “  man  and  beast  ”  live  in  safe 
plenty.  The  plain  blessings  of  an  all-embracing 
providence  should  make  it  easier  to  believe  in  the 
unmingled  goodness  of  acts  which  are  too  vast  for  men 
to  judge  and  of  that  mighty  name  which  towers  above 
their  conceptions.  What  they  see  is  goodness ;  what 
they  cannot  see  must  be  of  a  piece.  The  psalmist  is  in 
“  that  serene  and  blessed  mood  ”  when  the  terrible  mys¬ 
teries  of  creation  and  providence  do  not  interfere  with 
his  “  steadfast  faith  that  all  which  he  beholds  is  full  of 
blessings.”  There  are  times  when  these  mysteries  press 
with  agonising  force  on  devout  souls,  but  there  should 
also  be  moments  when  the  pure  love  of  the  perfectly  good 
God  is  seen  to  fill  all  space  and  outstretch  all  dimen¬ 
sions  of  height  and  depth  and  breadth.  The  awful 
problems  of  pain  and  death  will  be  best  dealt  with  by 
those  who  can  echo  the  rapture  of  this  psalm. 

If  God  is  such,  what  is  man’s  natural  attitude  to 
so  great  and  sweet  a  name  ?  Glad  wonder,  accepting 
His  gift  as  the  .  one  precious  thing,  and  faith  shelter¬ 
ing  beneath  the  great  shadow  of  His  outstretched 
wing.  The  exclamation  in  ver.  8,  11  How  precious  is 
Thy  loving-kindness  1  ”  expresses  not  only  its  intrinsic 
value,  but  the  devout  soul’s  appreciation  of  it.  The 
secret  of  blessedness  and  test  of  true  wisdom  lie  in  a 
sane  estimate  of  the  worth  of  God’s  loving-kindness  as 
compared  with  all  other  treasures.  Such  an  estimate 
leads  to  trust  in  Him,  as  the  psalmist  implies  by  his 
juxtaposition  of  the  two  clauses  of  ver.  7,  though  he 
connects  them,  not  by  an  expressed  “  therefore,”  but 
by  the  simple  copula.  The  representation  of  trust  as 
taking  refuge  reappears  here,  with  its  usual  suggestions 
of  haste  and  peril.  The  “  wing  ”  of  God  suggests 
tenderness  and  security.  And  the  reason  for  trust  is 


xxxvi.] 


THE  PSALMS . 


351 


enforced  in  the  designation  il  sons  of  men/’  partakers  of 
weakness  and  mortality,  and  therefore  needing  the 
refuge  which,  in  the  wonderfulness  of  His  loving¬ 
kindness,  they  find  under  the  pinions  of  so  great  a  God. 

The  psalm  follows  the  refugees  into  their  hiding- 
place,  and  shows  how  much  more  than  bare  shelter  they 
find  there.  They  are  God’s  guests,  and  royally  enter¬ 
tained  as  such.  The  joyful  priestly  feasts  in  the  Temple 
colour  the  metaphor,  but  the  idea  of  hospitable  recep¬ 
tion  of  guests  is  the  more  prominent.  The  psalmist 
speaks  the  language  of  that  true  and  wholesome 
mysticism  without  which  religion  is  feeble  and  formal. 
The  root  ideas  of  his  delineation  of  the  blessedness  01 
the  fugitives  to  God  are  their  union  with  God  and 
possession  of  Him.  Such  is  the  magical  might  ol 
lowly  trust  that  by  it  weak  dying  u  sons  of  men  ”  are 
so  knit  to  the  God  whose  glories  the  singer  has  been 
celebrating  that  they  partake  of  Himself  and  are  satu¬ 
rated  with  His  sufficiency,  drink  of  His  delights  in  some 
deep  sense,  bathe  in  the  fountain  of  life,  and  have  His 
light  for  their  organ  and  medium  and  object  of  sight. 
These  great  sentences  beggar  all  exposition.  They 
touch  on  the  rim  of  infinite  things,  whereof  only  the 
nearer  fringe  comes  within  our  ken  in  this  life.  The 
soul  that  lives  in  God  is  satisfied,  having  real  possession 
of  the  only  adequate  object.  The  variety  of  desires, 
appetites,  and  needs  requires  manifoldness  in  their  food, 
but  the  unity  of  our  nature  demands  that  all  that  mani¬ 
foldness  should  be  in  One.  Multiplicity  in  objects,  aims, 
loves,  is  misery ;  oneness  is  blessedness.  We  need  a 
lasting  good  and  an  ever-growing  one  to  meet  and  unfold 
'the  capacity  of  indefinite  growth.  Nothing  but  God  can 
satisfy  the  narrowest  human  capacity. 

Union  with  Him  is  the  source  of  all  delight,  as  of 


352 


THE  PSALMS. 


all  true  fruition  of  desires.  Possibly  a  reference  to 
Eden  may  be  intended  in  the  selection  of  the  word 
for  “  pleasures/’  which  is  a  cognate  with  that  name. 
So  there  may  be  allusion  to  the  river  which  watered 
that  garden,  and  the  thought  may  be  that  the  present 
life  of  the  guest  of  God  is  not  all  unlike  the  delights 
of  that  vanished  paradise.  We  may  perhaps  scarcely 
venture  on  supposing  that  “  Thy  pleasures  ”  means  those 
which  the  blessed  God  Himself  possesses ;  but  even  if 
we  fake  the  lower  and  safer  meaning  of  those  which 
God  gives,  we  may  bring  into  connection  Christ’s  own 
gift  to  His  disciples  of  His  own  peace,  and  His  assurance 
that  faithful  servants  will  “  enter  into  the  joy  of  their 
Lord.”  Shepherd  and  sheep  drink  of  the  same  brook 
by  the  way  and  of  the  same  living  fountains  above. 
The  psalmist’s  conception  of  religion  is  essentially  joy¬ 
ful.  No  doubt  there  are  sources  of  sadness  peculiar 
to  a  religious  man,  and  he  is  necessarily  shut  out  from 
much  of  the  effervescent  poison  of  earthly  joys  drugged 
with  sin.  Much  in  his  life  is  inevitably  grave,  stern, 
and  sad.  But  the  sources  of  joy  opened  are  far  deeper 
than  those  that  are  closed.  Surface  wells  (many  of 
them  little  better  than  open  sewers)  may  be  shut  up, 
but  an  unfailing  stream  is  found  in  the  desert.  Satis¬ 
faction  and  joy  flow  from  God,  because  life  and  light 
are  with  Him ;  and  therefore  he  who  is  with  Him  has 

them  for  his.  “  With  Thee  is  the  fountain  of  life  ”  is 

/ 

true  in  every  sense  of  the  word  “life.”  In  regard  to 
life  natural,  the  saying  embodies  a  loftier  conception 
of  the  Creator’s  relation  to  the  creature  than  the 
mechanical  notion  of  creation.  The  fountain  pours  its 
waters  into  stream  or  basin,  which  it  keeps  full  by 
continual  flow.  Stop  the  efflux,  and  these  are  dried  up. 
So  the  great  mystery  of  life  in  all  its  forms  is  as  a 


xxxvi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


353 


spark  from  a  fire,  a  drop  from  a  fountain,  or,  as  Scrip¬ 
ture  puts  it  in  regard  to  man,  a  breath  from  God’s  own 
lips.  In  a  very  real  sense,  wherever  life  is,  there  God 
is,  and  only  by  some  form  of  union  with  Him  or  by 
the  presence  of  His  power,  which  is  Himself,  do  crea¬ 
tures  live.  But  the  psalm  is  dealing  with  the  blessings 
belonging  to  those  who  trust  beneath  the  shadow  of 
God’s  wing  ;  therefore  life  here,  in  this  verse,  is  no 
equivalent  to  mere  existence,  physical  or  self-conscious, 
but  it  must  be  taken  in  its  highest  spiritual  sense. 
Union  with  God  is  its  condition,  and  that  union  is 
brought  to  pass  by  taking  refuge  with  Him.  The  deep 
words  anticipated  the  explicit  teaching  of  the  Gospel  in 
so  far  as  they  proclaimed  these  truths,  but  the  greatest 
utterance  still  remained  unspoken  :  that  this  life  is  “in 
His  Son.” 

Light  and  life  are  closely  connected.  Whether 
knowledge,  purity,  or  joy  is  regarded  as  the  dominant 
idea  in  the  symbol,  or  whether  all  are  united  in  it,  the 
profound  words  of  the  psalm  are  true.  In  God’s  light  we 
see  light.  In  the  lowest  region  “the  seeing  eye  is 
from  the  Lord.”  “The  inspiration  of  the  Almighty 
giveth  understanding.”  Faculty  and  medium  of  vision 
are  both  of  Him.  But  hearts  in  communion  with  God 
are  illumined,  and  they  who  are  “  in  the  light  ”  cannot 
walk  in  darkness.  Practical  wisdom  is  theirs.  The 
light  of  God,  like  the  star  of  the  Magi,  stoops  to  guide 
pilgrims’  steps.  Clear  certitude  as  to  sovereign  realities 
is  the  guerdon  of  the  guests  of  God.  Where  other 
eyes  see  nothing  but  mists,  they  can  discern  solid 
land  and  the  gleaming  towers  of  the  city  across  the 
sea.  Nor  is  that  light  only  the  dry  light  by  which  we 
know,  but  it  means  purity  and  joy  also;  and  to  “see 
light  ”  is  to  possess  these  too  by  derivation  from  the 

23 


354 


THE  PSALMS. 


purity  and  joy  of  God  Himself.  He  is  the  “  master 
light  of  all  our  seeing.”  The  fountain  has  become  a 
stream,  and  taken  to  itself  movement  towards  men  ; 
for  the  psalmist’s  glowing  picture  is  more  than  fulfilled 
in  Jesus  Christ,  who  has  said,  “  I  am  the  Light  of  the 
world ;  he  that  followeth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness, 
but  shall  have  the  light  of  life.” 

The  closing  division  is  prayer,  based  both  upon  the 
contemplation  of  God’s  attributes  in  vv.  5,  6,  and  of 
the  wicked  in  the  first  part.  This  distinct  reference  to 
both  the  preceding  sections  is  in  favour  of  the  original 
unity  of  the  psalm.  The  belief  in  the  immensity  of 
Divine  loving-kindness  and  righteousness  inspires  the 
prayer  for  their  long-drawn-out  (so  “  continue  ”  means 
literally)  continuance  to  the  psalmist  and  his  fellows. 
He  will  not  separate  himself  from  these  in  his  petition, 
but  thinks  of  them  before  himself.  “  Those  who  know 
Thee  ”  are  those  who  take  refuge  under  the  shadow 
of  the  great  wing.  Their  knowledge  is  intimate, 
vital ;  it  is  acquaintanceship,  not  mere  intellectual 
apprehension.  It  is  such  as  to  purge  the  heart  and 
make  its  possessors  upright.  Thus  we  have  set  forth 
in  that  sequence  of  trust,  knowledge,  and  uprightness 
stages  of  growing  Godlikeness  closety  corresponding 
to  the  Gospel  sequence  of  faith,  love,  and  holiness. 
Such  souls  are  capaces  Dei,  fit  to  receive  the  manifesta¬ 
tions  of  God’s  loving-kindness  and  righteousness ;  and 
from  such  these  will  never  remove.  They  will  stand 
stable  as  His  firm  attributes,  and  the  spurning  foot 
of  proud  oppressors  shall  not  trample  on  them,  nor 
violent  hands  be  able  to  stir  them  from  their  steadfast, 
secure  place.  The  prayer  of  the  psalm  goes  deeper 
than  any  mere  deprecation  of  earthly  removal,  and  is 
but  prosaically  understood,  if  thought  to  refer  to  exile 


xxxvi.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


355 


or  the  like.  The  dwelling-place  from  which  it  beseeches 
that  the  suppliant  may  never  be  removed  is  his  safe 
refuge  beneath  the  wing,  or  in  the  house,  of  God. 
Christ  answered  it  when  He  said,  “  No  man  is  able  to 
pluck  them  out  of  my  Father's  hand."  The  one  desire 
of  the  heart  which  has  tasted  the  abundance,  satisfac¬ 
tion,  delights,  fulness  of  life,  and  clearness  of  light  that 
attend  the  presence  of  God  is  that  nothing  may  draw  it 
thence. 

Prayer  wins  prophetic  certitude.  From  his  serene 
shelter  under  the  wing,  the  suppliant  looks  out  on  the 
rout  of  baffled  foes,  and  sees  the  end  which  gives  the 
lie  to  the  oracle  of  transgression  and  its  flatteries. 
u  They  are  struck  down,"  the  same  word  as  in  the 
picture  of  the  pursuing  angel  of  the  Lord  in  Psalm  xxxv. 
Here  the  agent  of  their  fall  is  unnamed,  but  one  power 
only  can  inflict  such  irrevocable  ruin.  God,  who  is  the 
shelter  of  the  upright  in  heart,  has  at  last  lound  out 
the  sinners’  iniquity,  and  His  hatred  of  sin  stands 
ready  to  u  smite  once,  and  smite  no  more." 


PSALM  XXXVII. 


1  (N)  Heat  not  thyself  because  of  the  evil-doers ; 

Be  not  envious  because  of  the  workers  of  perversity 

2  For  like  grass  shall  they  swiftly  fade, 

And  like  green  herbage  shall  they  wither. 

3  (2)  Trust  in  Jehovah,  and  do  good  ; 

Inhabit  the  land,  and  feed  on  faithfulness. 

4  And  delight  thyself  in  Jehovah, 

And  He  shall  give  thee  the  desires  of  thy  heart. 

5  (3)  Roll  thy  way  upon  Jehovah, 

And  trust  in  Him,  and  He  shall  do  [all  that  thou  dost  need]. 

6  And  He  shall  bring  forth  as  the  light  thy  righteousness, 

And  thy  judgment  as  the  noonday. 

7  (1)  Be  silent  to  Jehovah,  and  wait  patiently  for  Him  ; 

Heat  not  thyself  because  of  him  who  makes  his  way  prosperous, 
Because  of  the  man  who  carries  out  intrigues. 

8  (H)  Cease  from  anger,  and  forsake  wrath  ; 

Heat  not  thyself:  [it  leads]  only  to  doing  evil. 

9  For  evil-doers  shall  be  cut  off; 

And  they  who  wait  on  Jehovah — they  shall  inherit  the  land. 

10  (1)  And  yet  a  little  while,  and  the  wicked  is  no  more, 

And  thou  shalt  take  heed  to  his  place,  and  he  is  not  [there]. 

1 1  And  the  meek  shall  inherit  the  land, 

And  delight  themselves  in  the  abundance  of  peace. 

12  (T)  The  wicked  intrigues  against  the  righteous, 

And  grinds  his  teeth  at  him. 

13  The  Lord  laughs  at  him, 

For  He  sees  that  his  day  is  coming. 

14  (n)  The  wicked  draw  sword  and  bend  their  bow, 

To  slay  the  afflicted  and  poor, 

To  butcher  the  upright  in  way; 

15  Their  sword  shall  enter  into  their  own  heart, 

And  their  bows  shall  be  broken. 

356 


xxxvii.J 


THE  PSALMS. 


357 


1 6  (15)  Better  is  the  little  of  the  righteous 
Than  the  abundance  of  many  wicked. 

17  For  the  arms  of  the  wicked  shall  be  broken, 

And  Jehovah  holds  up  the  righteous. 

18  (')  Jehovah  has  knowledge  of  the  days  of  the  perfect, 

And  their  inheritance  shall  be  for  ever  ; 

19  They  shall  not  be  put  to  shame  in  the  time  of  evil, 

And  in  the  days  of  famine  they  shall  be  satisfied. 

20  (D)  For  the  wicked  shall  perish, 

And  the  enemies  of  Jehovah  shall  be  like  the  beauty  of 
the  pastures ; 

They  melt  away  in  smoke  :  they  melt  away. 

21  (^>)  The  wicked  borrows,  and  does  not  pay; 

And  the  righteous  deals  generously,  and  gives. 

22  For  His  blessed  ones  shall  inherit  the  earth, 

And  His  cursed  ones  shall  be  cut  off. 

23  (D)  From  Jehovah  are  a  man’s  steps  established. 

And  He  delighteth  in  his  way  ; 

24  If  he  falls,  he  shall  not  lie  prostrate, 

For  Jehovah  holds  up  his  hand. 

25  (5)  A  youth  have  I  been,  now  I  am  old, 

And  I  have  not  seen  a  righteous  man  forsaken, 

Or  his  seed  begging  bread. 

26  All  day  long  he  is  dealing  generously  and  leading, 

And  his  seed  is  blessed. 

27  (D)  Depart  from  evil,  and  do  good  ; 

And  dwell  for  evermore. 

28  For  Jehovah  loves  judgment, 

And  forsakes  not  them  whom  He  favours. 

(V)  They  are  preserved  for  ever 

(The  unrighteous  arc  destroyed  for  ever  ?), 

And  the  seed  of  the  wicked  is  cut  off. 

29  The  righteous  shall  inherit  the  land, 

And  dwell  thereon  for  ever. 

30  (D)  The  mouth  of  the  righteous  meditates  wisdom, 

And  his  tongue  speaks  judgment. 

31  The  law  of  his  God  is  in  his  heart ; 

His  steps  shall  not  waver. 


358 


THE  PSALMS. 


32  (V)  The  wicked  watches  the  righteous, 

And  seeks  to  slay  him  ; 

33  Jehovah  will  not  leave  him  in  his  hand, 

And  will  not  condemn  him  when  he  is  judged. 

34  (p)  Wait  for  Jehovah,  and  keep  His  way, 

And  He  will  exalt  thee  to  inherit  the  land  ; 

When  the  wicked  is  cut  off,  thou  shalt  see  [it]. 

35  0)  I  have  seen  the  wicked  terror-striking 

And  spreading  himself  abroad  like  [a  tree]  native  to  the  soil 
[and]  green. 

36  And  he  passed  (I  passed  by  ?),  and  lo,  he  was  not  [there]  ; 

And  I  sought  for  him,  and  he  was  not  to  be  found. 

37  (E^)  Mark  the  perfect,  and  behold  the  upright ; 

For  there  is  a  posterity  to  the  man  of  peace. 

38  And  apostates  are  destroyed  together; 

The  posterity  of  the  wicked  is  cut  off. 

39  (11)  And  the  salvation  of  the  righteous  is  from  Jehovah, 

Their  stronghold  in  time  of  trouble. 

40  And  Jehovah  helps  them  and  rescues  them  ; 

He  rescues  them  from  the  wicked,  and  saves  them, 

Because  they  take  refuge  in  Him. 

THERE  is  a  natural  connection  between  acrostic 
structure  and  didactic  tone,  as  is  shown  in  several 
instances,  and  especially  in  this  psalm.  The  structure 
is  on  the  whole  regular,  each  second  verse  beginning 
with  the  required  letter,  but  here  and  there  the  period 
is  curtailed  or  elongated  by  one  member.  Such  irre¬ 
gularities  do  not  seem  to  mark  stages  in  the  thought 
or  breaks  in  the  sequence,  but  are  simply  reliefs  to 
the  monotony  of  the  rhythm,  like  the  shiftings  of  the 
place  of  the  pause  in  blank  verse,  the  management  of 
which  makes  the  difference  between  a  master  and  a 
bungler.  The  psalm  grapples  with  the  problem  which 
tried  the  faith  of  the  Old  Testament  saints — namely,  the 
apparent  absence  of  correlation  of  conduct  with  con¬ 
dition — and  solves  it  by  the  strong  assertion  of  the 


xxxvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


359 


brevity  of  godless  prosperity  and  the  certainty  that 
well-doing  will  lead  to  well-being.  The  principle 
is  true  absolutely  in  the  long  run,  but  there  is  no 
reference  in  the  psalm  to  the  future  life.  Visible 
material  prosperity  is  its  promise  for  the  righteous, 
and  the  opposite  its  threatening  for  the  godless. 
No  doubt  retribution  is  not  wholly  postponed  till 
another  life,  but  it  does  not  fall  so  surely  and  visibly 
as  this  psalm  would  lead  us  to  expect.  The  relative 
imperfection  of  the  Old  Testament  revelation  is  reflected 
in  the  Psalms,  faith’s  answer  to  Heaven’s  word.  The 
clear  light  of  New  Testament  revelation  of  the  future 
is  wanting,  nor  could  the  truest  view  of  the  meaning 
and  blessedness  of  sorrow  be  adequately  and  pro¬ 
portionately  held  before  Christ  had  taught  it  by  His 
own  history  and  by  His  words.  The  Cross  was 
needed  before  the  mystery  of  righteous  suffering  could 
be  fully  elucidated,  and  the  psalmist's  solution  is  but 
provisional.  His  faith  that  infinite  love  ruled  and 
that  righteousness  was  always  gain,  and  sin  loss,  is 
grandly  and  eternally  true.  Nor  is  it  to  be  forgotten 
that  he  lived  and  sang  in  an  order  of  things  in  which 
the  Divine  government  had  promised  material  blessings 
as  the  result  of  spiritual  faithfulness,  and  that,  with 
whatever  anomalies,  modest  prosperity  did,  on  the 
whole,  attend  the  true  Israelite.  The  Scripture  books 
which  wrestle  most  profoundly  with  the  standing  puzzle 
of  prosperous  evil  and  afflicted  goodness  are  late  books, 
not  merely  because  religious  reflectiveness  was  slowly 
evolved,  but  because  decaying  faith  had  laid  Israel 
open  to  many  wounds,  and  the  condition  of  things 
which  accompanied  the  decline  of  the  ancient  order 
abounded  with  instances  of  triumphant  wickedness. 

But  though  this  psalm  does  not  go  to  the  bottom 


360 


THE  PSALMS. 


of  its  theme,  its  teaching  of  the  blessedness  of  absolute 
trust  in  God’s  providence  is  ever  fresh,  and  fits  close 
to  all  stages  of  revelation ;  and  its  prophecies  of 
triumph  for  the  afflicted  who  trust  and  of  confusion 
to  the  evil-doer  need  only  to  be  referred  to  the  end 
to  be  completely  established.  As  a  theodicy,  or 
vindication  of  the  ways  of  God  with  men,  it  was  true 
for  its  age,  but  the  New  Testament  goes  beneath  it. 
As  an  exhortation  to  patient  trust  and  an  exhibition 
of  the  sure  blessings  thereof,  it  remains  what  it  has 
been  to  many  generations :  the  gentle  encourager  of 
meek  faith  and  the  stay  of  afflicted  hearts. 

Marked  progress  of  thought  is  not  to  be  looked  for 
in  an  acrostic  psalm.  In  the  present  instance  the 
same  ideas  are  reiterated  with  emphatic  persistence, 
but  little  addition  or  variation.  To  the  didactic  poet 
“to  write  the  same  things  is  not  grievous,”  for  they 
are  his  habitual  thoughts;  and  for  his  scholars  “it  is 
safe,”  for  there  is  no  better  aid  to  memory  than  the 
cadenced  monotony  of  the  same  ideas  cast  into  song 
and  slightly  varied.  But  a  possible  grouping  may  be 
suggested  by  observing  that  the  thought  of  the  “  cutting 
off”  of  the  wicked  and  the  inheritance  of  the  land  by 
the  righteous  occurs  three  times.  If  it  is  taken  as  a 
kind  of  refrain,  we  may  cast  the  psalm  into  four  por¬ 
tions,  the  first  three  of  which  close  with  that  double 
thought.  Vv.  1-9  will  then  form  a  group,  characterised 
by  exhortations  to  trust  and  assurances  of  triumph. 
The  second  section  will  then  be  vv.  10-22,  which, 
while  reiterating  the  ground  tone  of  the  whole,  does 
so  with  a  difference,  inasmuch  as  its  main  thought 
is  the  destruction  of  the  wicked,  in  contrast  with  the 
triumph  of  the  righteous  in  the  preceding  verses.  A 
third  division  will  be  vv.  23-29,  of  which  the  chief 


xxx  vii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


361 


feature  is  the  adduction  of  the  psalmist’s  own  experience 
as  authenticating  his  teaching  in  regard  to  the  Divine 
care  of  the  righteous,  and  that  extended  to  his  de¬ 
scendants.  The  last  section  (vv.  30-40)  gathers  up  all, 
reasserts  the  main  thesis,  and  confirms  it  by  again 
adducing  the  psalmist’s  experience  in  confirmation  of 
the  other  half  of  his  assurances,  namely  the  destruction 
of  the  wicked.  But  the  poet  does  not  wish  to  close  his 
words  with  that  gloomy  picture,  and  therefore  this  last 
section  bends  round  again  to  reiterate  and  strengthen 
the  promises  for  the  righteous,  and  its  last  note  is  one 
of  untroubled  trust  and  joy  in  experienced  deliverance. 

The  first  portion  (vv.  1-9)  consists  of  a  series  of 
exhortations  to  trust  and  patience,  accompanied  by 
assurance  of  consequent  blessing.  These  are  preceded 
and  followed  by  a  dehortation  from  yielding  to  the 
temptation  of  fretting  against  the  prosperity  of  evil¬ 
doers,  based  upon  the  assurance  of  its  transitoriness. 
Thus  the  positive  precepts  inculcating  the  ideal  temper 
to  be  cultivated  are  framed  in  a  setting  of  negatives, 
inseparable  from  them.  The  tendency  to  murmur  at 
flaunting  wrong  must  be  repressed  if  the  disposition  of 
trust  is  to  be  cultivated ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  full 
obedience  to  the  negative  precepts  is  only  possible  when 
the  positive  ones  have  been  obeyed  with  some  degree 
of  completeness.  The  soul’s  husbandry  must  be  busied 
in  grubbing  up  weeds  as  well  as  in  sowing ;  but  the 
true  way  to  take  away  nourishment  from  the  baser  is  to 
throw  the  strength  of  the  soil  into  growing  the  nobler 
crop.  “Fret  not  thyself”  (A.V.)is  literally,  “Heat  not 
thyself,”  and  “  Be  not  envious  ”  is  “  Do  not  glow,”  the 
root  idea  being  that  of  becoming  fiery  red.  The  one 
word  expresses  the  kindling  emotion,  the  other  its  visible 
sign  in  the  flushed  face.  Envy,  anger,  and  any  other 


362 


THE  PSALMS, 


violent  and  God-forgetting  emotion  are  included.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  matter  in  hand  worth  getting  into  a 
heat  about,  for  the  prosperity  in  question  is  short-lived. 
This  leading  conviction  moulds  the  whole  psalm,  and, 
as  we  have  pointed  out,  is  half  of  the  refrain.  We 
look  for  the  other  half  to  accompany  it,  as  usual,  and 
we  find  it  in  one  rendering  of  ver.  3,  which  has  fallen 
into  discredit  with  modern  commentators,  and  to  which 
we  shall  come  presently  ;  but  for  the  moment  we  may 
pause  to  suggest  that  the  picture  of  the  herbage  wither¬ 
ing  as  soon  as  cut,  under  the  fierce  heat  of  the  Eastern 

sun,  may  stand  in  connection  with  the  metaphors  in 

* 

ver.  1.  Why  should  we  blaze  with  indignation  when  so 
much  hotter  a  glow  will  dry  up  the  cut  grass  ?  Let  it 
wave  in  brief  glory,  unmeddled  with  by  us.  The  scythe 
and  the  sunshine  will  soon  make  an  end.  The  precept 
and  its  reason  are  not  on  the  highest  levels  of  Christian 
ethics,  but  they  are  unfairly  dealt  with  if  taken  to  mean, 
Do  not  envy  the  wicked  man’s  prosperity,  nor  wish  it 
were  yours,  but  solace  yourself  with  the  assurance  of 
his  speedy  ruin.  What  is  said  is  far  nobler  than  that. 
It  is,  Do  not  let  the  prosperity  of  unworthy  men  shake 
your  faith  in  God’s  government,  nor  fling  you  into  an 
unwholesome  heat,  for  God  will  sweep  away  the  anomaly 
in  due  time. 

In  regard  to  the  positive  precepts,  the  question  arises 
whether  ver.  3  b  is  command  or  promise,  with  which 
is  associated  another  question  as  to  the  translation  of 
the  words  rendered  by  the  A.V.,  u  Verily  thou  shalt  be 
fed,”  and  by  the  R.V.,  il  Follow  after  faithfulness.”  The 
relation  of  the  first  and  second  parts  of  the  subsequent 
verses  is  in  favour  of  regarding  the  clause  as  promise, 

but  the  force  of  that  consideration  is  somewhat  weakened 

* 

by  the  non-occurrence  in  ver.  3  of  the  copula  which 


xxxvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


363 


introduces  the  promises  of  the  other  verses.  Still  its 
omission  does  not  seem  sufficient  to  forbid  taking  the 
clause  as  corresponding  with  these.  The  imperative 
is  similarly  used  as  substantially  a  future  in  ver.  27  : 
“and  dwell  for  evermore."  The  fact  that  in  every 
other  place  in  the  psalm  where  “  dwelling  in  the  land  ” 
is  spoken  of  it  is  a  promise  of  the  sure  results  of  trust, 
points  to  the  same  sense  here,  and  the  juxtaposition  ot 
the  two  ideas  in  the  refrain  leads  us  to  expect  to  find 
the  prediction  of  ver.  2  followed  by  its  companion  there. 
On  the  whole,  then,  to  understand  ver.  3  b  as  promise 
seems  best.  (So  LXX.,  Ewald,  Gratz,  etc.)  What, 
then,  is  the  meaning  of  its  last  words  ?  If  they  are  a 
continuation  of  the  promise,  they  must  describe  some 
blessed  effect  of  trust.  Two  renderings  present  them¬ 
selves,  one  that  adopted  in  the  R.V.  margin,  “  Feed 
securely,”  and  another  “  Feed  on  faithfulness  ”  (i.e.}  of 
God).  Hupfeld  calls  this  an  “  arbitrary  and  forced  ” 
reference  of  “  faithfulness  ”  ;  but  it  worthily  completes 
the  great  promise.  The  blessed  results  of  trust  and 
active  goodness  are  stable  dwelling  in  the  land  and 
nourishment  there  from  a  faithful  God.  The  thoughts 
move  within  the  Old  Testament  circle,  but  their  sub¬ 
stance  is  eternally  true,  for  they  who  take  God  for  their 
portion  have  a  safe  abode,  and  feed  their  souls  on  His 
unalterable  adherence  to  His  promises  and  on  the 
abundance  flowing  thence. 

The  subsequent  precepts  bear  a  certain  relation 
to  each  other,  and,  taken  together,  make  a  lovely 
picture  of  the  inner  secret  of  the  devout  life  :  “  Delight 

thyself  in  Jehovah  ;  roll  thy  way  on  Him  ;  trust  in  Him  ; 
be  silent  to  Jehovah.”  No  man  will  commit  his  way  to 
God  who  does  not  delight  in  Him ;  and  unless  he  has 
so  committed  his  way,  he  cannot  rest  in  the  Lord. 


3^4 


THE  PSALMS. 


The  heart  that  delights  in  God,  finding  its  truest  joy  in 
Him  and  being  well  and  at  ease  when  consciously 
moving  in  Him  as  an  all-encompassing  atmosphere 
and  reaching  towards  Him  with  the  deepest  of  its 
desires,  will  live  far  above  the  region  of  disappoint¬ 
ment.  For  it  desire  and  fruition  go  together.  Long¬ 
ings  fixed  on  Him  fulfil  themselves.  We  can  have  as 
much  of  God  as  we  wish.  If  He  is  our  delight,  we 
shall  wish  nothing  contrary  to  nor  apart  from  Him, 
and  wishes  which  are  directed  to  Him  cannot  be  in 
vain.  To  delight  in  God  is  to  possess  our  delight, 
and  in  Him  to  find  fulfilled  wishes  and  abiding  joys. 
“  Commit  thy  way  unto  Him,  ”  or  u  Roll  it  upon  Him  ” 
in  the  exercise  of  trust ;  and,  as  the  verse  says  with 
grand  generality,  omitting  to  specify  an  object  for  the 
verb,  u  He  will  do  ” — all  that  is  wanted,  or  will  finish 
the  work.  To  roll  one’s  way  upon  Jehovah  implies 
subordination  of  will  and  judgment  to  Him  and  quiet 
confidence  in  His  guidance.  If  the  heart  delights  in 
Him,  and  the  will  waits  silent  before  Him,  and  a 
happy  consciousness  of  dependence  fills  the  soul,  the 
desert  will  not  be  trackless,  nor  the  travellers  fail  to 
hear  the  voice  which  says,  “  This  is  the  way  ;  walk  ye  in 
it.”  He  who  trusts  is  led,  and  God  works  for  him, 
clearing  away  clouds  and  obstructions.  His  good  may 
be  evil  spoken  of,  but  the  vindication  by  fact  will  make 
his  righteousness  shine  spotless ;  and  his  cause  may 
be  apparently  hopeless,  but  God  will  deliver  him.  He 
shall  shine  forth  as  the  sun,  not  only  in  such  earthly 
vindication  as  the  psalmist  prophesied,  but  more  re- 
splendently,  as  Christian  faith  has  been  gifted  with 
long  sight  to  anticipate,  “  in  the  kingdom  of  my  Father.” 
Thus  delighting  and  trusting,  a  man  may  u  be  silent.’ 
Be  still  before  Jehovah,  in  the  silence  of  a  submissive 


xxxvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


365 

heart,  and  let  not  that  stillness  be  torpor,  but  gather 
thyself  together  and  stretch  out  thy  hope  towards 
Him.  That  patience  is  no  mere  passive  endurance 
without  murmuring,  but  implies  tension  of  expectance. 
Only  if  it  is  thus  occupied  will  it  be  possible  to  purge  the 
heart  of  that  foolish  and  weakening  heat  which  does 
no  harm  to  any  one  but  to  the  man  himself.  a  Heat 
not  thyself ;  it  only  leads  to  doing  evil.  Thus 
the  section  returns  upon  itself  and  once  more  ends 
with  the  unhesitating  assurance,  based  upon  the  very 
essence  of  God’s  covenant  with  the  nation,  that  right¬ 
eousness  is  the  condition  of  inheritance,  and  sin  the 
cause  of  certain  destruction.  The  narrower  application 
of  the  principle,  which  was  all  that  the  then  stage  of 
revelation  made  dear  to  the  psalmist,  melts  away  for 
us  into  the  Christian  certainty  that  righteousness 
is  the  condition  of  dwelling  in  the  true  land  of  promise, 
and  that  sin  is  always  death,  in  germ  or  in  full  fruit¬ 
age. 

The  refrain  occurs  next  in  ver.  22,  and  the  portion 
thus  marked  off  (vv.  10-22)  may  be  dealt  with  as  a 
smaller  whole.  After  a  repetition  (vv.  10,  11)  of  the 
main  thesis  slightly  expanded,  it  sketches  in  vivid  out¬ 
line  the  fury  of  “  the  wicked  ”  against  “  the  just  ”  and 
the  grim  retribution  that  turns  their  weapons  into 
agents  of  their  destruction.  How  dramatically  are 
contrasted  the  two  pictures  of  the  quiet  righteous  in  the 
former  section  and  of  this  raging  enemy,  with  his 
gnashing  teeth  and  arsenal  of  murder  !  And  with  what 
crushing  force  the  thought  of  the  awful  laughter  of 
Jehovah,  in  foresight  of  the  swift  flight  towards  the  blind 
miscreant  of  the  day  of  his  fall,  which  has  already,  as  it 
were,  set  out  on  its  road,  smites  his  elaborate  prepara¬ 
tions  into  dust !  Silently  the  good  man  sits  wrapped  in 


366 


THE  PSALMS. 


his  faith.  Without  are  raging,  armed  foes.  Above,  the 
laughter  of  God  rolls  thunderous,  and  from  the  throne 
the  obedient  “  day  ”  is  winging  its  flight,  like  an  eagle 
with  lightning  bolts  in  its  claws.  What  can  the  end 
be  but  another  instance  of  the  solemn  lex  talionis,  by 
which  a  man’s  evil  slays  himself? 

Various  forms  of  the  contrast  between  the  two 
classes  follow,  with  considerable  repetition  and  wind¬ 
ings.  One  consideration  which  has  to  be  taken  into 
account  in  estimating  the  distribution  of  material 
prosperity  is  strongly  put  in  vv.  1 6,  17.  The  good 
of  outward  blessings  depends  chiefly  oh  the  character 
of  their  owner.  The  strength  of  the  extract  from  a 
raw  material  depends  on  the  solvent  applied,  and  there 
is  none  so  powerful  to  draw  out  the  last  drop  of 
most  poignant  and  pure  sweetness  from  earthly  good 
as  is  righteousness  of  heart.  Naboth’s  vineyard  will 
yield  better  wine,  if  Naboth  is  trusting  in  Jehovah, 
than  all  the  vines  of  Jezreel  or  Samaria.  u  Many 
wicked  ”  have  not  as  much  of  the  potentiality  of 
blessedness  in  all  their  bursting  coffers  as  a  poor 
widow  may  distil  out  of  two  mites.  The  reasons  for 
that  are  manifold,  but  the  prevailing  thought  of  the 
psalm  leads  to  one  only  being  named  here.  “  For,”  says 
ver.  17,  “  the  arms  of  the  wicked  shall  be  broken.” 
Little  is  the  good  of  possessions  which  cannot  defend 
their  owners  from  the  stroke  of  God’s  executioners,  but 
themselves  pass  away.  The  poor  man’s  little  is  much, 
because,  among  other  reasons,  he  is  upheld  by  God, 
and  therefore  needs  not  to  cherish  anxiety,  which 
embitters  the  enjoyments  of  others.  Again  the  familiar 
thought  of  permanent  inheritance  recurs,  but  now  with 
a  glance  at  the  picture  just  drawn  of  the  destruction 
coming  to  the  wicked.  There  are  days  and  days.  God 


xxxvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


367 


saw  that  day  of  ruin  speeding  on  its  errand,  and  He 
has  loving  sympathetic  knowledge  of  the  days  of  the 
righteous  (i.  6),  and  holds  their  lives  in  His  hand ; 
therefore  continuance  and  abundance  are  ensured. 

The  antithetical  structure  of  vv.  16-22  is  skilfully 
varied,  so  as  to  avoid  monotony.  It  is  elastic  within 
limits.  We  note  that  in  the  Teth  strophe  (yjr.  16,  17) 
each  verse  contains  a  complete  contrast,  while  in  the 
Yod  strophe  (vv.  18,  19)  one  half  only  of  the  contrast 
is  presented,  which  would  require  a  similar  expansion 
of  the  other  over  two  verses.  Instead  of  this,  however, 
the  latter  half  is  compressed  into  one  verse  (20),  which 
is  elongated  by  a  clause.  Then  in  the  Lamed  strophe 
(vv.  21,  22)  the  briefer  form  recurs,  as  in  vv.  16,  17.  Thus 
the  longer  antithesis  is  enclosed  between  two  parallel 
shorter  ones,  and  a  certain  variety  breaks  up  the  same¬ 
ness  of  the  swing  from  one  side  to  the  other,  and 
suggests  a  pause  in  the  flow  of  the  psalm.  The  elong¬ 
ated  verse  (20)  reiterates  the  initial  metaphor  of  wither¬ 
ing  herbage  (ver.  2)  with  an  addition,  for  the  rendering 
“  fat  of  lambs  ”  must  be  given  up  as  incongruous,  and 
only  plausible  on  account  of  the  emblem  of  smoke  in 
the  next  clause.  But  the  two  metaphors  are  inde¬ 
pendent.  Just  as  in  ver.  2,  so  here,  the  gay  “beauty 
of  the  pastures,”  so  soon  to  wilt  and  be  changed 
into  brown  barrenness,  mirrors  the  fate  of  the  wicked. 
Ver.  2  shows  the  grass  fallen  before  the  scythe ;  ver.  20 
lets  us  see  it  in  its  flush  of  loveliness,  so  tragically 
unlike  what  it  will  be  when  its  “  day  ”  has  come.  The 
other  figure  of  smoke  is  a  stereotype  in  all  tongues  for 
evanescence.  The  thick  wreaths  thin  away  and  melt. 
Another  peculiar  form  of  the  standing  antithesis  appears 
in  the  Lamed  strophe  (vv.  21,  22),  which  sets  forth  the 
gradual  impoverishment  of  the  wicked  and  prosperity 


368 


THE  PSALMS. 


as  well  as  beneficence  of  the  righteous,  and,  by  the 
“for”  of  ver.  22,  traces  these  up  to  the  “curse  and 
blessing  of  God,  which  become  manifest  in  the  final 
destiny  of  the  two  ”  (Delitzsch).  Not  dishonesty,  but 
bankruptcy,  is  the  cause  of  “  not  paying  again  ”  ;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  blessing  of  God  not  only  enriches, 
but  softens,  making  the  heart  which  has  received  grace 
a  well-spring  of  grace  to  needy  ones,  even  if  they  are 
foes.  The  form  of  the  contrast  suggests  its  dependence 
on  the  promises  in  Deut.  xii.  44,  xv.  6,  28.  Thus 
the  refrain  is  once  more  reached,  and  a  new  departure 
taken. 

The  third  section  is  shorter  than  the  preceding  (vv. 
23-29),  and  has,  as  its  centre,  the  psalmist’s  confirma¬ 
tion  from  his  own  experience  of  the  former  part  of  his 
antithesis,  the  fourth  section  similarly  confirming  the 
second.  All  this  third  part  is  sunny  with  the  Divine 
favour  streaming  upon  the  righteous,  the  only  reference 
to  the  wicked  being  in  the  refrain  at  the  close.  The 
first  strophe  (vv.  23,  24)  declares  God’s  care  for  the 
former  under  the  familiar  image  of  guidance  and  support 
to  a  traveller.  As  in  vv.  5,  7,  the  “way  ”  is  an  emblem 
of  active  life,  and  is  designated  as  “  his  ”  who  treads  it. 
The  intention  of  the  psalm,  the  context  of  the  metaphor, 
and  the  parallelism  with  the  verses  just  referred  to, 
settle  the  reference  of  the  ambiguous  pronouns  “  he  ” 
and  “  his  ”  in  ver.  23  b.  God  delights  in  the  good  man’s 
way  (i.  6),  and  that  is  the  reason  for  His  establishing 
his  goings.  “  Quoniam  Deo  grata  est  piorum  via, 
gressus  ipsum  ad  laetum  finem  adducit  ”  (Calvin).  That 
promise  is  not  to  be  limited  to  either  the  material  or 
moral  region.  The  ground  tone  of  the  psalm  is  that 
the  two  regions  coincide  in  so  far  as  prosperity  in  the 
outer  is  the  infallible  index  of  rightness  in  the  inner. 


xxxvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


369 


The  dial  has  two  sets  of  hands,  one  within  and  one 
without,  but  both  are,  as  it  were,  mounted  on  the  same 
spindle,  and  move  accurately  alike.  Steadfast  treading 
in  the  path  of  duty  and  successful  undertakings  are 
both  included,  since  they  are  inseparable  in  fact.  True, 
even  the  fixed  faith  of  the  psalmist  has  to  admit  that 
the  good  man’s  path  is  not  always  smooth.  If  facts  had 
not  often  contradicted  his  creed,  he  would  never  have 
sung  his  song ;  and  hence  he  takes  into  account  the 
case  of  such  a  man’s  falling,  and  seeks  to  reduce  its 
importance  by  the  considerations  of  its  recoverableness 
and  of  God’s  keeping  hold  of  the  man’s  hand  all  the 
while. 

The  Nun  strophe  brings  in  the  psalmist’s  experience 
to  confirm  his  doctrine.  The  studiously  impersonal 
tone  of  the  psalm  is  dropped  only  here  and  in  the 
complementary  reference  to  the  fall  of  the  wicked 
(vv.  35,  36).  Observation  and  reflection  yield  the  same 
results.  Experience  seals  the  declarations  of  faith. 
His  old  e}res  have  seen  much;  and  the  net  result  is  that 
the  righteous  may  be  troubled,  but  not  abandoned,  and 
that  there  is  an  entail  of  blessing  to  their  children. 
In  genera],  experience  preaches  the  same  truths 
to-day,  for,  on  the  whole,  wrong-doing  lies  at  the 
root  of  most  of  the  hopeless  poverty  and  misery  of 
modern  society.  Idleness,  recklessness,  thriftlessness, 
lust,  drunkenness,  are  the  potent  factors  of  it ;  and  if 
their  handiwork  and  that  of  the  subtler  forms  of 
respectable  godlessness  and  evil  were  to  be  eliminated, 
the  sum  of  human  wretchedness  would  shrink  to  very 
small  dimensions.  The  mystery  of  suffering  is  made 
more  mysterious  by  ignoring  its  patent  connection  with 
sin,  and  by  denying  the  name  of  sin  to  many  of  its 
If  men’s  conduct  were  judged  by  God’s 

24 


causes. 


37° 


THE  PSALMS. 


standard,  there  would  be  less  wonder  at  God’s  judg¬ 
ments  manifested  in  men’s  suffering. 

The  solidarity  of  the  family  was  more  strongly  felt  in 
ancient  times  than  in  our  days  of  individualism,  but 
even  now  the  children  of  the  righteous,  if  they  maintain 
the  hereditary  character,  do  largely  realise  the  blessing 
which  the  psalmist  declares  is  uniformly  theirs.  He 
is  not  to  be  tied  down  to  literality  in  his  statement  of 
the  general  working  of  things.  What  he  deals  with 
is  the  prevailing  trend,  and  isolated  exceptions  do 
not  destroy  his  assertion.  Of  course  continuance  in 
paternal  virtues  is  presupposed  as  the  condition  of 
succeeding  to  paternal  good.  In  the  strength  of  the 
adduced  experience,  a  hortatory  tone,  dropped  since 
ver.  8,  is  resumed,  with  reminiscences  of  that  earlier 
series  of  counsels.  The  secret  of  permanence  is  con¬ 
densed  into  two  antithetical  precepts,  to  depart  from 
evil  and  do  good,  and  the  key-note  is  sounded  once 
more  in  a  promise,  cast  into  the  guise  of  a  command¬ 
ment  (compare  ver.  3),  of  unmoved  habitation,  which 
is,  however,  not  to  be  stretched  to  refer  to  a  future  life, 
of  which  the  psalm  says  nothing.  Such  permanent 
abiding  is  sure,  inasmuch  as  Jehovah  loves  judgment 
and  watches  over  the  objects  of  His  loving-kindness. 

The  acrostic  sequence  fails  at  this  point,  if  the 
Masoretic  text  is  adhered  to.  There  is  evident  disorder 
in  the  division  of  verses,  for  ver.  28  has  four  clauses 
instead  of  the  normal  two.  If  the  superfluous  two  are 
detached  from  it  and  connected  as  one  strophe  with 
ver.  29,  a  regular  two-versed  and  four-claused  strophe 
results.  Its  first  word  (L’olam  = u  for  ever”)  has  the 
Ayin,  due  in  the  alphabetical  sequence,  in  its  second 
letter,  the  first  being  a  prefixed  preposition,  which  may 
be  passed  over,  as  in  ver.  39  the  copula  Vav  is  pre- 


xxxvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


fixed  to  the  initial  letter.  Delitzsch  takes  this  to  be 
the  required  letter ;  but  if  so,  another  irregularity 
remains,  inasmuch  as  the  first  couplet  of  the  strophe 
should  be  occupied  with  the  fate  of  the  wicked,  as 
antithetical  to  that  of  the  righteous  in  ver.  29.  “  They 

are  preserved  for  ever  ”  throws  the  whole  strophe  out 
of  order.  Probably,  therefore,  there  is  textual  corrup¬ 
tion  here,  which  the  LXX.  helps  in  correcting.  It  has 
an  evidently  double  rendering  of  the  clause,  as  is  not 
unfrequently  the  case  where  there  is  ambiguity  or 
textual  difficulty,  and  gives  side  by  side  with  “  They 
shall  be  preserved  for  ever  ”  the  rendering  “  The  law¬ 
less  shall  be  hunted  out,”  which  can  be  re-turned  into 
Hebrew  so  as  to  give  the  needed  initial  Ayin  either 
in  a  somewhat  rare  word,  or  in  one  which  occurs  in 
ver.  35.  If  this  correction  is  adopted,  the  anomalies 
disappear,  and  strophe,  division,  acrostic,  and  antithetical 
refrain  are  all  in  order. 

The  last  section  (ver.  30  to  end),  like  the  preceding, 
has  the  psalmist’s  experience  for  its  centre,  and  traces 
the  entail  of  conduct  to  a  second  generation  of  evil-doers, 
as  the  former  did  to  the  seed  of  the  righteous.  Both 
sections  begin  with  the  promise  of  firmness  for  the 
“  goings  or  steps  ”  of  the  righteous,  but  the  later  verses 
expand  the  thought  by  a  fuller  description  of  the  moral 
conditions  of  stability.  “  The  law  of  his  God  is  in  his 
heart.”  That  is  the  foundation  on  which  all  permanence 
is  built.  From  that  as  centre  there  issue  wise  and  just 
words  011  the  one  hand  and  stable  deeds  on  the  other. 
That  is  true  in  the  psalmist’s  view  in  reference  to 
outward  success  and  continuance,  but  still  more  pro¬ 
foundly  in  regard  to  steadfast  progress  in  paths  of 
righteousness.  He  who  orders  his  footsteps  by  God’s 
known  will  is  saved  from  much  hesitancy,  vacillation, 


372 


THE  PSALMS. 


7 


and  stumbling,  and  plants  a  firm  foot  even  on  slippery 
places. 

Once  more  the  picture  of  the  enmity  of  the  wicked 
recurs,  as  in  vv.  12-14,  with  the  difference  that  there 
the  emphasis  was  laid  on  the  destruction  of  the  plotters, 
and  here  it  is  put  on  the  vindication  of  the  righteous 
by  acts  of  deliverance  (vv.  32,  33). 

In  ver.  34  another  irregularity  occurs,  in  its  being 
the  only  verse  in  a  strophe  and  being  prolonged  to 
three  clauses.  This  may  be  intended  to  give  emphasis 
to  the  exhortation  contained  in  it,  which,  like  that  in 
ver.  27,  is  the  only  one  in  its  section.  The  two  key 
words  “  inherit  ”  and  “  cut  off  ”  are  brought  together. 
Not  only  are  the  two  fates  set  in  contrast,  but  the 
waiters  on  Jehovah  are  promised  the  sight  of  the  de¬ 
struction  of  the  wicked.  Satisfaction  at  the  sight  is 
implied.  There  is  nothing  unworthy  in  solemn  thank¬ 
fulness  when  God’s  judgments  break  the  teeth  of  some 
devouring  lion.  Divine  judgments  minister  occasion 
for  praise  even  from  pure  spirits  before  the  throne,  and 
men  relieved  from  the  incubus  of  godless  oppression 
may  well  draw  a  long  breath  of  relief,  which  passes 
into  celebration  of  His  righteous  acts.  No  doubt  there 
is  a  higher  tone,  which  remembers  ruth  and  pity  even 
in  that  solemn  joy ;  but  Christian  feeling  does  not 
destroy  but  modify  the  psalmist’s  thankfulness  for  the 
sweeping  away  of  godless  antagonism  to  goodness. 

His  assurance  to  those  who  wait  on  Jehovah  has  his 
own  experience  as  its  guarantee  (ver.  35),  just  as  the 
complementary  assurance  in  ver.  24  had  in  ver.  25.  The 
earlier  metaphors  of  the  green  herbage  and  the  beauty 
of  the  pastures  are  heightened  now.  A  venerable,  wide- 
spreading  giant  of  the  forests,  rooted  in  its  native  soil, 
is  grander  than  those  humble  growths ;  but  for  lofty 


xxxvii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


373 


cedars  or  lowly  grass  the  end  is  the  same.  Twice  the 
psalmist  stood  at  the  same  place ;  once  the  great  tree 
laid  its  large  limbs  across  the  field,  and  lifted  a  firm 
bole  :  again  he  came,  and  a  clear  space  revealed  how 
great  had  been  the  bulk  which  shadowed  it.  Not  even 
a  stump  was  left  to  tell  where  the  leafy  glory  had  been. 

Vv.  37,  38,  make  the  Shin  strophe,  and  simply  reiterate 
the  antithesis  which  has  moulded  the  whole  psalm,  with 
the  addition  of  that  reference  to  a  second  generation 
which  appeared  in  the  third  and  fourth  parts.  The 
word  rendered  in  the  A.V.  and  R.V.  <(  latter  end  ”  here 
means  posterity.  The  “  perfect  man  ”  is  further  desig¬ 
nated  as  a  u  man  of  peace.” 

The  psalm  might  have  ended  with  this  gathering 
together  of  its  contents  in  one  final  emphatic  statement, 
but  the  poet  will  not  leave  the  stern  words  of  destruc¬ 
tion  as  his  last.  Therefore  he  adds  a  sweet,  long- 
drawn-out  close,  like  the  calm,  extended  clouds,  that  lie 
motionless  in  the  western  sky  after  a  day  of  storm,  in 
which  he  once  more  sings  of  the  blessedness  of  those 
who  wait  on  Jehovah.  Trouble  will  come,  notwith¬ 
standing  his  assurances  that  righteousness  is  blessed¬ 
ness  ;  but  in  it  Jehovah  will  be  a  fortress  home,  and 
out  of  it  He  will  save  them.  However  the  teaching  of 
the  psalm  may  need  modification  in  order  to  coincide 
with  the  highest  New  Testament  doctrine  of  the  relation 
between  righteousness  and  prosperity,  these  confidences 
need  none.  For  ever  and  absolutely  they  are  true  :  in 
trouble  a  stronghold,  out  of  trouble  a  Saviour,  is  God 
to  all  who  cling  to  Him.  Very  beautifully  the  closing 
verse  lingers  on  its  theme,  and  wreathes  its  thoughts 
together,  with  repetition  that  tells  how  sweet  they  arc 
to  the  singer  :  "  Jehovah  helps  them,  and  rescues  them  ; 
He  rescues  them,  .  .  .  and  saves  them,”  So  the  measure 


374 


THE  PSALMS 


of  the  strophe  is  complete,  but  the  song  flows  over  in 
an  additional  clause,  which  points  the  path  for  all  who 
seek  such  blessedness.  Trust  is  peace.  They  who 
take  refuge  in  Jehovah  are  safe,  and  their  inheritance 
shall  be  for  ever.  That  is  the  psalmist’s  inmost  secret 
of  a  blessed  life. 


PSALM  XXXVIII. 


1  Jehovah,  notin  Thine  indignation  do  Thou  rebuke  me, 
Nor  in  Thy  hot  anger  chastise  me. 

2  For  Thine  arrows  are  come  down  into  me, 

And  down  upon  me  comes  Thy  hand. 

3  There  is  no  soundness  in  my  flesh  because  of  Thy  wrath 
There  is  no  health  in  my  bones  because  of  my  sin. 

4  For  my  iniquities  have  gone  over  my  head  ; 

As  a  heavy  burden,  they  are  too  heavy  for  me. 

5  My  bruises  smell  foully,  they  run  with  matter, 

Because  of  my  folly. 

6  I  am  twisted  [with  pain]  ;  I  am  bowed  down  utterly; 

All  the  day  I  drag  about  in  squalid  attire. 

7  For  my  loins  are  full  of  burning, 

And  there  is  no  soundness  in  my  flesh. 

8  I  am  exhausted  and  crushed  utterly  j 
I  roar  for  the  sighing  of  my  heart. 

\ 

9  Lord,  present  to  Thee  is  all  my  desire, 

And  my  sighing  is  not  hid  from  Thee. 

10  My  heart  flutters,  my  strength  has  left  me, 

And  the  light  of  my  eyes — even  it  is  no  more  with  me. 

1 1  My  levers  and  friends  stand  aloof  from  my  stroke, 

And  my  near  [kin]  stand  far  off. 

12  And  they  who  seek  after  my  life  set  snares  [for  me], 
And  they  who  desire  my  hurt  speak  destruction, 

And  meditate  deceits  all  the  day. 

13  And  I,  like  a  deaf  man,  do  not  hear, 

And  am  like  one  dumb,  who  opens  not  his  mouth. 

14  Yea,  I  am  become  like  a  man  who  hears  not, 

And  in  whose  mouth  are  no  counter-pleas. 

*5  For  for  Thee,  Jehovah,  do  I  wait ; 

Thou,  Thou  wilt  answer,  O  Lord,  my  God. 

375 


I 


376 


THE  PSALMS. 


16  For  I  said,  Lest  they  should  rejoice  over  me, 

[And]  when  my  foot  slips,  should  magnify  themselves  over  me. 

17  For  I  am  ready  to  fall, 

And  my  sorrow  is  continually  present  to  me. 

18  For  I  must  declare  my  guilt, 

Be  distressed  for  my  sin. 

19  And  my  enemies  are  lively,  they  are  strong, 

(And  my  enemies  without  cause  are  strong  ?) 

And  they  who  wrongfully  hate  me  are  many; 

20  And,  requiting  evil  for  good, 

They  are  my  adversaries  because  I  follow  good, 

21  Forsake  me  not,  Jehovah  ; 

My  God,  be  not  far  from  me. 

22  Haste  to  my  help, 

O  God,  my  salvation. 


HIS  is  a  long-drawn  wail,  passionate  at  first,  but 


JL  gradually  calming  itself  into  submission  and  trust, 
though  never  passing  from  the  minor  key.  The  name 
of  God  is  invoked  thrice  (vv.  I,  9,  15),  and  each  time 
that  the  psalmist  looks  up  his  burden  is  somewhat 
easier  to  carry,  and  some  “  low  beginnings  of  content  ” 
steal  into  his  heart  and  mingle  with  his  lament.  Sorrow 
finds  relief  in  repeating  its  plaint.  It  is  the  mistake  of 
cold-blooded  readers  to  look  for  consecution  of  thought 
in  the  cries  of  a  wounded  soul ;  but  it  is  also  a  mistake 
to  be  blind  to  the  gradual  sinking  of  the  waves  in  this 
psalm,  which  begins  with  deprecating  God’s  wrath,  and 
ends  with  quietly  nestling  close  to  Him  as  u  my 
salvation.” 

The  characteristic  of  the  first  burst  of  feeling  is  its 
unbroken  gloom.  It  sounds  the  depths  of  darkness, 
with  which  easy-going,  superficial  lives  are  unfamiliar, 
but  whoever  has  been  down  into  them  will  not  think 
the  picture  overcharged  with  black.  The  occasion  of 
the  psalmist’s  deep  dejection  cannot  be  gathered  from 
his  words.  He,  like  all  poets  who  teach  in  song  what 


xxxviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


377 


they  learn  in  suffering,  translates  his  personal  sorrows 
into  language  fitting  for  others’  pains.  The  feelings 
are  more  important  to  him  and  to  us  than  the  facts, 
and  we  must  be  content  to  leave  unsettled  the  question 
of  his  circumstances,  on  which,  after  all,  little  depends. 
Only,  it  is  hard  for  the  present  writer,  at  least,  to  believe 
that  such  a  psalm,  quivering,  as  it  seems,  with  agony,  is 
not  the  genuine  cry  of  a  brother’s  tortured  soul,  but 
an  utterance  invented  for  a  personified  nation.  The 
close  verbal  resemblance  of  the  introductory  depreca¬ 
tion  of  chastisement  in  anger  to  Psalm  vi.  I  has 
been  supposed  to  point  to  a  common  authorship,  and 
Delitzsch  takes  both  psalms,  along  with  Psalms  xxxii., 
and  li.  as  a  series  belonging  to  the  time  of  David’s 
penitence  after  his  great  fall  from  purity.  But  the 
resemblance  in  question  would  rather  favour  the  sup¬ 
position  of  difference  of  authorship,  since  quotation  is 
more  probable  than  self-repetition.  Jer.  x.  23  is  by 
some  held  to  be  the  original,  and  either  Jeremiah 
himself  or  some  later  singer  to  have  been  the  author  of 
the  psalm.  The  question  of  which  of  two  similar  pas¬ 
sages  is  source  and  which  is  copy  is  always  ticklish. 
Jeremiah’s  bent  was  assimilative,  and  his  prophecies 
are  full  of  echoes.  The  priority,  therefore,  probably 
lies  with  one  or  other  of  the  psalmists,  if  there  are  two. 

The  first  part  of  the  psalm  is  entirely  occupied  with 
the  subjective  aspect  of  the  psalmist’s  affliction.  Three 
elements  are  conspicuous  :  God’s  judgments,  the  singer’s 
consciousness  of  sin,  and  his  mental  and  probably 
physical  sufferings.  Are  the  “  arrows  ”  and  crushing 
weight  of  God’s  “  hand,”  which  he  deprecates  in  the 
first  verses,  the  same  as  the  sickness  and  wounds, 
whether  of  mind  or  body,  which  he  next  describes  so 
pathetically  ?  They  are  generally  taken  to  be  so,  but 


373 


THE  PSALMS. 


the  language  of  this  section  and  the  contents  of  the 
remainder  of  the  psalm  rather  point  to  a  distinction 
between  them.  It  would  seem  that  there  are  three 
stages,  not  two,  as  that  interpretation  would  make  them. 
Unspecified  calamities,  recognised  by  the  sufferer  as 
God’s  chastisements,  have  roused  his  conscience,  and 
its  gnawing  has  superinduced  mental  and  bodily  pain. 
The  terribly  realistic  description  of  the  latter  may, 
indeed,  be  figurative,  but  is  more  probably  literal. 
The  reiterated  synonyms  for  God’s  displeasure  in  vv. 
i,  3,  show  how  all  the  aspects  of  that  solemn  thought 
are  familiar.  The  first  word  regards  it  as  an  outburst, 
or  explosion,  like  a  charge  of  dynamite  ;  the  second  as 
“  glowing,  igniting  ”  ;  the  third  as  effervescent,  bubbling 
like  lava  in  a  crater.  The  metaphors  for  the  effects  of 
this  anger  in  ver.  2  deepen  the  impression  of  its  terrible¬ 
ness.  It  is  a  fearful  fate  to  be  the  target  for  God’s 
“  arrows,”  but  it  is  worse  to  be  crushed  under  the 
weight  of  His  “hand.”  The  two  forms  of  representation 
refer  to  the  same  facts,  but  make  a  climax.  The  verbs 
in  ver.  2  are  from  one  root,  meaning  to  come  down,  or  to 
lie  upon.  In  2  a  the  word  is  reflexive,  and  represents  the 
“  arrows  ”  as  endowed  with  volition,  hurling  themselves 
down.  They  penetrate  with  force  proportionate  to  the 
distance  which  they  fall,  as  a  meteoric  stone  buries  itself 
in  the  ground.  Such  being  the  wounding,  crushing 
power  of  the  Divine  “anger,”  its  effects  on  the  psalmist 
are  spread  out  before  God,  in  the  remaining  part  of  this 
first  division,  with  plaintive  reiteration.  The  connec¬ 
tion  which  a  quickened  conscience  discerns  between 
sorrow  and  sin  is  strikingly  set  forth  in  ver.  3,  in  which 
“  thine  indignation  ”  and  “  my  sin  ”  are  the  double 
fountain-heads  of  bitterness.  The  quivering  frame  first 
felt  the  power  of  God’s  anger,  and  then  the  awakened 


xxxvin.J 


THE  PSALMS . 


379 


conscience  turned  inwards  and  discerned  the  occasion 
of  the  anger.  The  three  elements  which  we  have 
distinguished  are  clearly  separated  here,  and  their 
connection  laid  bare. 

The  second  of  these  is  the  sense  of  sin,  which  the 
psalmist  feels  as  taking  all  u  peace  ”  or  well-being  out 
of  his  "  bones,”  as  a  flood  rolling  its  black  waters  over 
his  head,  as  a  weight  beneath  which  he  cannot  stand 
upright,  and  again  as  foolishness,  since  its  only  effect 
has  been,  to  bring  to  him  not  what  he  hoped  to  win  by 
it,  but  this  miserable  plight. 

Then,  he  pours  himself  out,  with  the  monotonous 
repetition  so  natural  to  self-pity,  in  a  graphic  accumu¬ 
lation  of  pictures  of  disease,  which  may  be  taken  as 
symbolic  of  mental  distress,  but  are  better  understood 
literally.  With  the  whole,  Isa.  i.  5,  6,  should  be 
compared,  nor  should  the  partial  resemblances  of 
Isa.  liii.  be  overlooked.  No  fastidiousness  keeps  the 
psalmist  from  describing  offensive  details.  His  body  is 
scourged  and  livid  with  parti-coloured,  swollen  weals 
from  the  lash,  and  these  discharge  foul-smelling  matter. 
With  this  compare  Isa.  liii.  5,  “  His  stripes”  (same 
word).  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  other  phy¬ 
sical  features  of  suffering,  this  must  obviously  be 
figurative.  Contorted  in  pain,  bent  down  by  weakness, 
dragging  himself  wearily  with  the  slow  gait  of  an  invalid, 
squalid  in  attire,  burning  with  inward  fever,  diseased  in 
every  tortured  atom  of  flesh,  he  is  utterly  worn  out  and 
broken  (same  word  as  u  bruised,”  Isa.  liii.  5).  Inward 
misery,  the  cry  of  the  heart,  must  have  outward  expres¬ 
sion,  and,  with  Eastern  vehemence  in  utterance  of 
emotions  which  Western  reticence  prefers  to  let  gnaw 
in  silence  at  the  roots  of  life,  he  “  roars  ”  aloud  because 
his  heart  groans. 


380 


THE  PSALMS. 


This  vivid  picture  of  the  effects  of  the  sense  of 
personal  sin  will  seem  to  superficial  modern  Chris¬ 
tianity,  exaggerated  and  alien  from  experience  ;  but  the 
deeper  a  man’s  godliness,  the  more  will  he  listen  with 
sympathy,  with  understanding  and  with  appropriation 
of  such  piercing  laments  as  his  own.  Just  as  few  of 
us  are  dowered  with  sensibilities  so  keen  as  to  feel  what 
poets  feel,  in  love  or  hope,  or  delight  in  nature,  or  with 
power  to  express  the  feelings,  and  yet  can  recognise  in 
their  winged  words  the  heightened  expression  of  our 
own  less  full  emotions,  so  the  truly  devout  soul  will 
find,  in  the  most  passionate  of  these  wailing  notes,  the 
completer  expression  of  his  own  experience.  We  must 
go  down  into  the  depths  and  cry  to  God  out  of  them, 
if  we  are  to  reach  sunny  heights  of  communion.  Intense 
consciousness  of  sin  is  the  obverse  of  ardent  aspiration 
after  righteousness,  and  that  is  but  a  poor  type  of 
religion  .which  has  not  both.  It  is  one  of  the  glories 
of  the  Psalter  that  both  are  given  utterance  to  in  it  in 
words  which  are  as  vital  to-day  as  when  they  first  came 
warm  from  the  lips  of  these  long  dead  men.  Every¬ 
thing  in  the  world  has  changed,  but  these  songs  of 
penitence  and  plaintive  deprecation,  like  their  twin 
bursts  of  rapturous  communion,  were  il  not  born  for 
death.”  Contrast  the  utter  deadness  of  the  religious 
hymns  of  all  other  nations  with  the  fresh  vitality  of  the 
Psalms.  As  long  as  hearts  are  penetrated  with  the 
consciousness  of  evil  done  and  loved,  these  strains  will  * 
fit  themselves  to  men’s  lips. 

Because  the  psalmist’s  recounting  of  his  pains  was 
prayer  and  not  soliloquy  or  mere  cry  of  anguish,  it 
calms  him.  We  make  the  wound  deeper  by  turning 
round  the  arrow  in  it,  when  we  dwell  upon  suffering 
without  thinking  of  God  ;  but  when,  like  the  psalmist, 


xxxviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


38i 


we  tell  all  to  Him,  healing  begins.  Thus,  the  second 
part  (vv.  9-14)  is  perceptibly  calmer,  and  though  still 
agitated,  its  thought  of  God  is  more  trustful,  and  silent 
submission  at  the  close  takes  the  place  of  the  “  roaring,” 
the  shrill  cry  of  agony  which  ended  the  first  part.  A 
further  variation  of  tone  is  that,  instead  of  the  entirely 
subjective  description  of  the  psalmist’s  sufferings  in 
vv.  1-8,  the  desertion  by  friends  and  the  hostility  of 
foes,  are  now  the  main  elements  of  trial.  There  is  com¬ 
parative  peace  for  a  tortured  heart  in  the  thought  that 
all  its  desire  and  sighing  are  known  to  God.  That 
knowledge  is  prior  to  the  heart’s  prayer,  but  does  not 
make  it  needless,  for  by  the  prayer  the  conviction  of 
the  Divine  knowledge  has  entered  the  troubled  soul, 
and  brought  some  prelude  of  deliverance  and  hope  of 
answer.  The  devout  soul  does  not  argue  “Thou 
knowest,  and  I  need  not  speak,”  but  “  Thou  knowest, 
therefore  I  tell  Thee  ” ;  and  it  is  soothed  in  and  after 
telling.  He  who  begins  his  prayer,  by  submitting  to 
chastisement  and  only  deprecating  the  form  of  it  inflicted 
by  “wrath,”  will  pass  to  the  more  gracious  thought  of 
God  as  lovingly  cognisant  of  both  his  desire  and  his 
sighing,  his  wishes  and  his  pains.  The  burst  of  the 
storm  is  past,  when  that  light  begins  to  break  through 
clouds,  though  waves  still  run  high. 

How  high  they  still  run  is  plain  from  the  immediate 
recurrence  of  the  strain  of  recounting  the  singer’s 
sorrows.  This  recrudescence  of  woe  after  the  clear 
calm  of  a  moment  is  only  too  well  known  to  us  all  in 
our  sorrows.  The  psalmist  returns  to  speak  of  his 
sickness  in  ver.  10,  which  is  really  a  picture  of  syncope 
or  fainting.  The  heart’s  action  is  described  by  a  rare 
word,  which  in  its  root  means  to  go  round  and  round, 
and  is  here  in  an  intensive  form  expressive  of  violent 


382 


THE  PSALMS. 


motion,  or  possibly  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  diminutive 
rather  than  an  intensive,  expressive  of  the  thinner 
though  quicker  pulse.  Then  come  collapse  of  strength 
and  failure  of  sight.  But  this  echo  of  the  preceding 
part  immediately  gives  place  to  the  new  element  in  the 
psalmist’s  sorrow,  arising  from  the  behaviour  of  friends 
and  foes.  The  frequent  complaint  of  desertion  by 
friends  has  to  be  repeated  by  most  sufferers  in  this 
selfish  world.  They  keep  far  away  from  his  “  stroke,” 
says  the  psalm,  using  the  same  word  as  is  employed 
for  leprosy,  and  as  is  used  in  the  verb  in  Isa.  liii.  4 
(“  stricken  ”).  There  is  a  tone  of  wonder  and  dis¬ 
appointment  in  the  untranslatable  play  of  language 
in  ver.  11  b.  u  My  near  relations  stand  far  off.”  Kin 
are  not  always  kind.  Friends  have  deserted  because 
foes  have  beset  him.  Probably  we  have  here  the  facts 
which  in  the  previous  part  are  conceived  of  as  the 
“  arrows  ”  of  God. 

Open  and  secret  enemies  laying  snares  for  him,  as 
for  some  hunted  wild  creature,  eagerly  seeking  his  life, 
speaking  “  destructions  ”  as  if  they  would  fain  kill  him 
with  their  words,  and  perpetually  whispering  lies  about 
him,  were  recognised  by  him  as  instruments  of  God’s 
judgment,  and  evoked  his  consciousness  of  sin,  which 
again  led  to  actual  disease.  But  the  bitter  schooling 
led  to  something  else  more  blessed — namely,  to  silent 
resignation.  Like  David,  when  he  let  Shimei  shriek 
his  curses  at  him  from  the  hillside  and  answered  not, 
the  psalmist  is  deaf  and  dumb  to  malicious  tongues. 
He  will  speak  to  God,  but  to  man  he  is  silent,  in  utter 
submission  of  will. 

Isaiah  liii.  7  gives  the  same  trait  in  the  perfect 
Sufferer,  a  faint  foreshadowing  of  whom  is  seen  in  the 
psalmist ;  and  1  Peter  ii.  23  bids  all  who  would  follow 


xxxviii.] 


THE  PSALMS, 


3^3 


the  Lamb  whithersoever  He  goeth,  like  Him  open  not 
their  mouths  when  reviled,  but  commit  themselves  to 
the  righteous  Judge. 

Once  more  the  psalmist  lifts  his  eyes  to  God,  and 
the  third  invocation  of  the  Name  is  attended  by  an 
increase  of  confidence.  In  the  first  part,  “ Jehovah” 
was  addressed  ;  in  the  second  the  designation  u  Lord  ” 
was  used ;  in  the  third,  both  are  united  and  the 
appropriating  name  “ my  God”  is  added.  In  the  closing 
invocation  (vv.  22-3)  all  three  reappear,  and  each  is 
the  plea  of  a  petition.  The  characteristics  of  these 
closing  verses  are  three  :  humble  trust,  the  marshalling 
of  its  reasons,  and  the  combination  of  acknowledgment 
of  sin  and  professions  of  innocence.  The  growth  pf 
trust  is  very  marked,  if  the  first  part,  with  its  synonyms 
for  God’s  wrath  and  its  deprecation  of  unmeasured 
chastisement  and  its  details  of  pain,  be  compared  with 
the  quiet  hope  and  assurance  that  God  will  answer,  and 
with  that  great  name  “  my  Salvation.”  The  singer  does 
not  indeed  touch  the  heights  of  triumphant  faith ;  but 
he  who  can  grasp  God  as  his,  and  can  be  silent  because 
he  is  sure  that  God  will  speak  by  delivering  deeds  for 
him  and  can  call  Llim  his  Salvation,  has  climbed  far 
enough  to  have  the  sunshine  all  round  him,  and  to  be 
clear  of  the  mists  among  which  his  song  began.  The 
best  reason  for  letting  the  enemy  speak  on  unanswered 
is  the  confidence  that  a  mightier  voice  will  speak. 
“  But  thou  wilt  answer,  Lord,  for  me  ”  may  well  make 
us  deaf  and  dumb  to  temptations  and  threats,  calumnies 
and  flatteries. 

How  does  this  confidence  spring  in  so  troubled  a 
heart  ?  The  fourfold  “  For  ”  beginning  each  verse  from 
15  to  18  weaves  them  all  into  a  chain.  The  first  gives 
the  reason  for  the  submissive  silence  as  being  quiet  con- 


384 


THE  PSALMS. 


fidence ;  and  the  succeeding  three  may  be  taken  as 
either  dependent  on  each  other,  or,  as  is  perhaps  better, 
as  co-ordinate  and  all-assigning  reasons  for  that  confi¬ 
dence.  Either  construction  yields  worthy  and  natural 
meanings.  If  the  former  be  adopted,  trust  in  God’s 
undertaking  of  the  silent  sufferer’s  cause  is  based  upon 
the  prayer  which  broke  his  silence.  Dumb  to  men, 
he  had  breathed  to  God  his  petition  for  help,  and  had 
buttressed  it  with  this  plea  “Lest  they  rejoice  over  me,” 
and  he  had  feared  that  they  would,  because  he  knew 
that  he  was  ready  to  fall  and  had  ever  before  him  his 
pain,  and  that  because  he  felt  himself  forced  to  lament 
and  confess  his  sin.  But  it  seems  to  yield  a  richer 
meaning,  if  the  “  For’s  ”  be  regarded  as  co-ordinate. 
They  then  become  a  striking  and  instructive  example 
of  faith’s  logic,  the  ingenuity  of  pleading  which  finds 
encouragements  in  discouragements.  The  suppliant  is 
sure  of  answer  because  he  has  told  God  his  fear,  and 
yet  again  because  he  is  so  near  falling  and  therefore 
needs  help  so  much,  and  yet  again  because  he  has 
made  a  clean  breast  of  his  sin.  Trust  in  God’s  help, 
distrust  of  self,  consciousness  of  weakness,  and  peni¬ 
tence  make  anything  possible  rather  than  that  the 
prayer  which  embodies  them  should  be  flung  up  to  an 
un answering  God.  They  are  prevalent  pleas  with 
Him  in  regard  to  which  He  will  not  be  “  as  a  man  that 
heareth  not,  and  in  whose  mouth  there  is  no  reply.” 
They  are  grounds  of  assurance  to  him  who  prays. 

The  juxtaposition  of  consciousness  of  sin  in  ver.  18 
with  the  declaration  that  love  of  good  was  the  cause  of 
being  persecuted,  brings  out  the  twofold  attitude,  in 
regard  to  God  and  men,  which  a  devout  soul  may  per¬ 
missibly  and  sometimes  must  necessarily  assume.  There 
may  be  the  truest  sense  of  sinfulness,  along  with  a 


xxxviii.] 


THE  PSALMS. 


385 


clear-hearted  affirmation  of  innocence  in  regard  to  men, 
and  a  conviction  that  it  is  good  and  goodwill  to  them, 
not  evil  in  the  sufferer,  which  makes  him  the  butt  of 
hatred.  Not  less  instructive  is  the  double  view  of  the 
same  facts  presented  in  the  beginning  and  end  of  this 
psalm.  They  were  to  the  psalmist  first  regarded  as 
God’s  chastisement  in  wrath,  His  “arrows”  and  heavy 
“  hand,”  because  of  sin.  Now  they  are  men’s  enmity, 
because  of  his  love  of  good.  Is  there  not  an  entire 
contradiction  between  these  two  views  of  suffering,  its 
cause  and  source  ?  Certainly  not,  but  rather  the  two 
views  differ  only  in  the  angle  of  vision,  and  may  be 
combined,  like  stereoscopic  pictures,  into  one  rounded, 
harmonious  whole.  To  be  able  so  to  combine  them  is 
one  of  the  rewards  of  such  pleading  trust  as  breathes 
its  plaintive  music  through  this  psalm,  and  wakes 
responsive  notes  in  devout  hearts  still. 


WORKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 


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